Cursed Kiss
by alwaysZutarian
Summary: Cursed to live with the body of a fearsome beast, Zuko hid from a cruel world that would not hesitate to destroy him, consumed with rage for those who had betrayed him, resigned to a lifetime of solitude. But then a ray of hope came in the form of a beautiful, blue-eyed woman. Could she look beyond his physical appearance and break his curse? Or would he forever remain alone?
1. Prologue

**Hello! Here is another Zutara story for you all. Ready for some drama, romance, fantasy, and a little bit of magic?**

 **So a little background before we start rolling the ball. This story was inspired by "Beauty and the Beast" and "Princess and the Frog". It won't follow either movie/story exactly, but it does have elements from both. It's set in the AtLA world, but it's an AU, meaning that it doesn't follow the AtLA plot at all. There is no Avatar in this story, but there are benders of all four elements and all four nations exist. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Thanks to my Beta reader, PurseMonger, for her help!**

Disclaimer- _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ is no property of mine.

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Prologue

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A cold breeze rustled the thin broken branches that clung like crooked fingers from the tall trees. Heavy, gray clouds moved swiftly across the dark sky, impeding the bright sun from touching its warm rays to the earth below. Birds rose to the sky with loud chirps and squawks as they deserted their nests in order to migrate to a much warmer area. The creatures and critters that lived on the ground below scurried on the dirt floor and burrowed themselves in their warm holes to sleep off the coming winter and wait for spring. Caribou-elk and other larger herbivores roamed the large basin and stayed close together to ward off the cold.

The seasons were changing once more. Fall was over and winter was arriving at the grand mountain area at the northernmost point of the Earth Kingdom. The valley surrounding the large looming mountain was peaceful and silent with the exception of the howling wind. The area was surrounded by countless trees whose leaves were currently being tossed wildly about by the harsh wind. One the western side of the summit rested a large, blue lake that was frozen solid. It was a place that mankind had not touched.

One creature in particular paid no mind—or cared, really—to the changing cold weather. It continued to glide through the air even though the climate was freezing cold and the wind was blowing harshly against it.

The creature flew above the trees, swirling amongst the angry clouds as it headed away from its hunt to its warm cavern where it made its home. Winter birds that flew near quickly moved away from the creature's path and squawked loudly as they beat their small wings urgently in order to escape. The critters below hid underground or behind trees and within bushes as the huge creature passed over them. They only came out from their hiding spots when the creature's large dark shadow disappeared.

Just like it paid no heed to the biting weather, the creature ignored the frightened animals as well. It was used to the panic its large form caused to those who laid eyes upon it.

The creature was a dragon. A mighty, majestic, and magnificent dragon. Its serpent like body was adorned with dark, crimson scales that gleamed golden when light touched upon them. Dark golden scales decorated the underside of its body. Raven-dark hair covered its large head and ran partially down its long spine, ending at the tip of its long, whip-like tail. Two dark wings were attached to either side of its sinewy body, when spread they were a few feet wide and beat large gusts of wind. On its four strong legs were five digits, each boasting black claws, sharp and deadly just like the pointed white fangs in its powerful maw. Two thin whiskers fell down on either side of its wide nostrils that flared hot smoke. Two thick, long black horns sprouted from its head, curving upwards into sharp points. Above its snout-like face were two intelligent and cunning eyes, the color of molten gold. They glinted like the power of the mighty sun itself.

The dark clouds shifted and the wind picked up speed. Cold, white snow began to fall to the frozen ground below, quickly covering every inch of the surface of the mountain valley. The snow, however, quickly melted when it landed on the warm scales of the dragon's body.

What made this particular creature, this particular powerful dragon, unique was not only the fact that it was not living in the Fire Nation where dragon kind hailed from, but also that this creature had not always been a dragon. A beast that struck fear in every living thing that came across its path, a creature that was written in books and myths as being a terrible and fearsome monster.

Once, a long time ago, this particular beast used to be human. A man who once had been a prince and was next in line to inherit the throne to the most powerful country of the four nations that made up the world, the Fire Nation. A man who had been respected and admired by everyone. A handsome young male who struck admiration and lust in every woman who came across his path. Royalty that was written about in history books, as a great and venerable prince.

His name was Zuko. The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.

And he had been cursed.

Forced to live the rest of his life as a hated and feared dragon. He was placed in a terrible spell not because he had been a tyrant who deserved such a fate, such a punishment. No. He was cursed due to the greed and evil hearts that some humans possessed. That lust of power that drove people to do cruel things, even if it meant hurting those around them. The worst part about the whole situation was not the curse itself—as horrible as it was—but the fact that said spell was placed on him by people he had trusted.

Zuko, human trapped in a dragon's body, flew through the snow storm as he lost himself in memories of days past. After all those years, he could not forget his past life, the comfort of living as a prince, of living as a human. But most especially, he could never forget that horrible day when his life had changed forever.

A low growl escaped from his draconic lips and he narrowed his slanted eyes at the memory before he dismissed it quickly from his mind. He had years of reminiscing about his tragic past and he was unwilling to think about any of that for too long. The horrible memory brought too much pain, too much sorrow, but most of all, it brought immense feelings of anger and rage.

There was one good thing about his problem, however. The curse could be broken; it was not permanent. There was one way to break the curse, one way that could change him from his draconic state to his normal human form. Oh, how he wished for it every waking moment of his life. How he wished to be a human man again, to be able to experience human activities again.

Being a dragon had its advantages such as flying, the heightened sense of sight, hearing, and smell, the strength, and the speed. But he would trade all those advantages to be human once again. He was tired of being feared all the time, he was tired of being hunted down for resembling a fearsome dragon, he was tired of living like an animal, but most all of all he was tired of being alone.

Freezing wind blew across his face, ruffling his dark hair and large dark wings. Zuko slowed down as he neared the grand mountain. He ignored the dark looming clouds that seemed to perch on the tall peak and the snow that crossed his path. He circled the rocky mountainside a few times until he spotted his hidden home. In the middle of the mountain, a few feet closer to the bottom, was a large cave. Its entrance was surrounded by small trees and bushes that made it difficult to find if one did not know its existence. Zuko had come upon it by pure luck when he had first arrived in the valley and explored the area. The entrance to the cave was small and low. Zuko had to crawl through in order for his large serpent-like body to pass.

Zuko's wings flapped loudly as he gracefully descended near the mouth of the cave. He perched onto the rocky sides with his sharp claws, gripping the rock beneath him, and folding his long wings to his sides, he slowly slid inside on his stomach. A few feet in, the low tunnel expanded into a large circular cavern, big enough that he could stand to his full height. The walls of the cave were rocky and plain. Due to the season it was cold, but thanks to his warm and thick dragon hide, the icy temperature did not bother him.

What he enjoyed the most of his small home was that attached to this cave was another chamber where he spent most of his time. When the dire situation he was in pressed down on him too much that it was painfully overwhelming he went there. This chamber was smaller than the one he slept it, barely big enough that he could fit. On the surface of the ceiling were many glowing teal crystals that illuminated the place with a soft radiance. But what was enchanting about this chamber was that on the northern wall stood a small waterfall. Water from the top of the mountain trailed down the wall and the water trickled into a small pool where a group of four people would be able to fit. From this pool a small stream was attached and ran down to an underground river that deposited to the lake below the mountain. The constant flow kept the pool clean and fresh, and he drank from it when he did not wish to leave his cave.

Wings still tucked against his body, Zuko entered the small illuminated room and bent his long neck down to the refreshing pool and took a long, deep drink, washing away the blood and taste of the caribou-elk he had eaten earlier. This was another reason why he disliked being a dragon. He did not have hands, and thus, was unable to cook. He sometimes used his fire breath to cook the meat, but the effort it took not to char it was sometimes an inconvenience. So he sometimes ate his food raw and bloody. Lifting his head, Zuko licked his chops. Water dripped from his chin and fell back onto the pool, creating a few ripples on its surface.

Zuko liked to spend time in this small, serene chamber because the soft radiance of the crystals relaxed him and the pool reminded him of the pond in the Fire Nation Palace garden that he used to visit with his mother before she was killed. His bright golden eyes closed as he tried to suppress the hurtful memories he had fought to keep locked away. He opened them again and caught sight of his draconic face.

A plume of smoke escaped from his nostrils and floated up to the glowing ceiling as his sadness turned into rage. His eyes narrowed and he growled at his reflection before he turned around to walk back to the larger room.

How he wished he could break the curse! To return to his homeland, exert his revenge and claim his rightful place on the Fire Nation throne!

How he wished to be human again!

Zuko made his way to the large pile of grass and moss at one corner of the cavern. He stretched his wings before he pressed them back against his sides. Grunting, he settled down on his earthy bedding and curled up, his long tail wrapping around his head.

A sound fell from him that sounded like a sigh. He would do anything to regain his human form, but the only way that could happen was if the curse was broken. The only way to break the curse was if a woman learned to truly love him in his current state and kissed him. Not only that, but he had to love her in return. Zuko closed his eyes in defeat. He had no hope for that to happen.

For who could ever love a…dragon?

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 **A/N: Curious? You'll need to continue reading to find out more!**

 **Thank you for reading and please drop me a review to let me know your thoughts :)**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	2. In Which the Dragon Makes a Discovery

**Hello, my lovelies! Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad to see that you seem interested in this new story of mine. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Many thanks to PurseMonger for her help!**

AtLA is not mine.

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Chapter One

 _ **In Which the Dragon Makes a Discovery**_

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Weeks later found Zuko hunting for his food once again. Winter had completely set and the valley was deeply covered in white snow. Few animals were out moving about, so the area was devoid of any sound except for the howling wind and the rustling of leaves. Zuko disliked the winter season since the cold weather drove many of the animals away, causing him to spend more time and effort trying to find a good meal. He missed the warm, sunny climate of the Fire Nation capital and the tropical weather of Ember Island where his family used to visit to swim in the ocean.

Shaking his head, Zuko growled at himself for once again letting his mind wander to the past. What good were the memories when he would forever be stuck in the body of a dragon? Refocusing his attention to his hunt, he searched the area below him for any sign of prey. His large wings beat slowly as he flew gracefully through the air and the wind ruffled his dark hair. Suddenly the wind picked up its speed and snow began to fall heavily from the dark clouds above. Zuko ignored the snowstorm as he continued on his search, but when the heavy snow began to impede his view, he decided to give up his search.

Annoyed that his food had ran away due to the turn of the weather, Zuko swiftly turned around and flew back to the mountain. He would try again tomorrow. Just as he approached the mountainside, his sharp eyes spotted something blue lying at the base of the mountain, feet below where his cave was. Curious, he slowed his flight and hovered over the dark blue stain among the pile of white snow before he landed a few feet away from it. His wings created a gust of wind that blew snow around his large body before he tucked them against his sides. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the strange blue spot before he cocked his head to the side in bemusement. What was it? Where did it come from?

He flared his nostrils and took a large whiff, but the sharp minty scent of snow was the only thing that invaded his senses. Growling softly, he took a few steps closer. As he approached, he realized the snow was quickly covering the blue object, so he quickened his pace. When he finally came near it, the snow had it almost completely covered.

Nothing exciting or new happened since he had arrived at the basin years ago, so he could not stop himself from wanting to explore the strange object. Curious and puzzled, he bent his head down and blew a gust of warm breath at the pile of snow. The warm air immediately melted the icy snow and finally revealed what was beneath it. Zuko reared back in shock at the sight before him.

A woman!

The blue color was her clothing, a sort of thick parka he had seen dignitaries of the Water Tribes wear when they had visited the palace. She was lying on her side and she was unconscious. Her long wet hair was covering her face and he could hear the faint sound of her heartbeat. What was she doing here? Who was she?

Zuko looked down at the woman for a moment before he turned away to leave the girl to her fate. What could he do for her? She was already weak and would not last much longer anyway. He spread his wings and prepared to take flight, but stopped. Something told him that he should help the woman. If he helped her, then she would have a chance to live, if not, she would surely die. Unsure of what to do, Zuko walked back to her. He stared down at her for a moment before he lifted his long tail and nudged her. She remained unconscious. He curled his tail under her and rolled her onto her back.

His eyes widened and his cold heart skipped a beat.

She was beautiful.

Her features were perfect, her skin was a lovely olive hue, her long chocolate-colored hair spread around her head, and her lips were full, though at the moment they were chapped and had a slight tinge of blue.

Zuko frowned. He needed to get her warmed up before she froze to death. But what would happen when she saw him?

The snowstorm was getting worse and it prompted Zuko to take action, deciding to ignore that issue for later when she woke up. That is, if she survived. He moved closer to her, unable to stop admiring her exotic beauty, before he refocused his attention on the problem at hand. How was he going to get her to his cave?

He reached out his clawed hand to gently wrap it around her middle and carefully cradled the woman to his warm chest. He felt her shiver and he pressed her closer to him as a reflex. He noticed a large pack almost buried in the snow and he bent down to grab it carefully between his teeth. With no more hesitation, Zuko spread his wings and took flight. He made sure to keep the unconscious woman curled into the curve of his arm and pressed to his chest to keep the wind and snow from hitting her.

Finally, he spotted the entrance to the cave and perched against the rocky mountainside with his free arm. He slid inside and crawled carefully through the tunnel, making sure to keep the woman from being crushed beneath him or against the hard walls. Once he stepped into the large cavernous room, he dropped her pack before he gently deposited her on his soft bedding. Even though the cave was dark, he could see that she was shivering thanks to his heightened eyesight. He needed to build a fire.

Zuko watched her for a moment before he quickly exited the cave in search of wood. He knew he would not find any dry wood in such weather, but thanks to his dragon abilities, he could dry wood with his warm breath.

Once he gathered a large pile of wood, he swiftly flew back to the cave. When he arrived, he immediately went to check on the woman and frowned when he saw that her shivering was worse. He quickly placed the pile of wood at the center of the room, and after fixing it to his satisfaction, he shot a small flame from his mouth. The now dry wood caught and a large fire blazed strongly. He again gathered the woman in his talon before he gently laid her down next to the blazing fire.

Her clothes were drenched and he hoped she would not get sick because he would not be able to help her. She was shivering uncontrollably and he knew she needed to get out of the wet clothes, but he did not have hands to help her undress, and if he tried he might accidentally hurt her with his claws. Thinking of another solution, Zuko lay down close to her shuddering body, and moved his face closer to her. Then he began to blow his warm breath over her. He did it a few times until her clothes and hair were completely dried and ruffled from his breath.

It was not until hours later, when the combined warmth of his breath and the fire finally seeped into her cold body, did she stop shivering. Zuko could hear her weak heartbeat return to a normal rhythm and her breathing regulated. His large body relaxed in relief.

He kept vigil over her all night to see if she would wake up, but she remained unconscious. He hoped it was just fatigue and not something more serious. He again took note of her clothing. She was wearing dark, blue pants tucked inside gray fur boots. A lighter blue parka, edged with white fur, covered her upper body down to her thighs with slits on the sides. Blue beads adorned the sides of her brown hair. There was no mistaking it, she was a Water Tribeswoman, but he could not tell from which tribe she hailed from. What made her leave her homeland to make her way to this deserted place?

Another question pressed more insistently in his mind. What made him save her life and bring her to his home? He was sure that when she woke up— if she woke up—she would run away once she saw him. The thought hurt and caused him to frown.

Moving closer, he gazed down into her face. Agni, she was beautiful. And he had not even seen her eyes yet. They must be blue like her fellow tribespeople, but what shade of blue? His gaze moved to her lips and he was relieved to see that they had regained their color. His eyes lingered on her lips a little longer. They were plump and soft looking—lips any man would love to kiss. He wondered how they would feel pressed against his.

His eyes widened. Where had that thought come from? He shook his head. It had been years since he had laid eyes on a woman and that must be affecting his brain. The thought made him trail his eyes down the rest of her body. Although her parka hid the curves of her body, it could not hide the feminine swell of her breasts. Zuko again shook his head and frowned at himself.

What was he doing? She was unconscious, for Agni's sake.

His eyes again landed on her face and a sigh-like sound escaped his fanged mouth. How he wished she could be the one to break the curse, but he quickly dismissed the thought. There was no point in getting his hopes up. Once she saw him, she would want nothing to do with him.

He growled at the thought before he moved away from her unconscious form.

She was a beautiful woman.

He was a hideous beast.

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 **A/N: Can you guess who the mysterious woman is? ;)**

 **Just setting up the story :)**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	3. In Which the Maiden Awakens

**Hello, dear readers! Here's the next chapter! Thank you so much to those who have reviewed so far. Your thoughts encourage me to continue writing!**

 **Many thanks to PurseMonger for editing this chapter for me.**

AtLA is not mine.

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Chapter Two

 ** _In Which the Maiden Awakens_**

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Golden eyes slowly opened and a yawn escaped from a fanged mouth. Zuko blinked as he waited for sleep to leave him as images of a woman crossed his mind. Had he been dreaming? Shaking his head, Zuko rose and stretched his long body only to freeze at the sight of the woman still lying unconscious near the dying fire.

So he had really rescued a woman and brought her to his home? Cautious about waking her up, the dragon slowly moved forward, his red scales gleaming slightly as the light hit upon them, and he gazed down upon the peacefully sleeping woman. He frowned when he realized that he was concerned that she had not woken up yet.

Why should he care? She would run away from him once she saw him anyway.

Shaking his head, he peered at her closely and was relieved to see that she did not appear sick and was breathing normally. But why was she still unconscious? As he continued to gaze at her, he could not stop himself from admiring her beauty. Her chocolate-colored hair spread under her head in wavy curls, her brown skin looked soft to the touch, her lips—which seem to have regain a little of their color—were nicely plump and tempting, and her body seemed lush and curved in all the right places, even beneath the heavy parka she was wearing. Any man would be lucky to have such a woman as his. He frowned at himself before he dismissed the thought from his mind. He lifted his eyes and noticed once again that the fire was low.

He should get more wood so she would wake up warm and comfortable. It would not do to have her freeze to death after he had rescued her. If she ever woke up. He frowned. What would he do if she never regained consciousness?

He turned away and he again dismissed the thought. He would deal with that issue when it presented itself, for now he needed to get more wood. He walked toward the entrance of the cave and crouched low, but before he entered the small tunnel, he took one last glance at the small feminine form. He could not stop himself. It was as if something drew him to her. Growling at himself for such foolish thoughts, he forced himself to look away before he crawled through the tunnel.

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A low groan fell from feminine lips and echoed through the dark cave. Blue eyes fluttered opened and darted dazedly around the unfamiliar sight. The young woman slowly sat up and pressed a hand to her head. She had a terrible headache and she felt disoriented. She glanced around herself and frowned in confusion at the darkness that surrounded her. She was sitting beside a low fire, and by the minimal light it provided, she could tell she was in some sort of cave.

Where was she? How did she get there?

"Great, Katara," she muttered at herself, "Why do you always get into these situations?"

She frowned as she tried to recall what happened to her. She remembered she had been separated from her brother and her friends when a huge snowstorm suddenly caught them off guard. She had been wandering around for two days, taking shelter beneath huge trees or beneath bushes as she searched for her companions. She had eaten the last of the beef jerky she had on her and had been unable to find any food, which caused her energy level to drop drastically. Disoriented, cold, and tired she had stumbled into the low valley dominated by a large mountain. She had forced her legs to continue walking as the snow and wind buffeted her, hoping she could take shelter in some cave in the mountain, but her body had been unable to continue further. As she approached the base of the mountain, she had begun to feel dizzy and that was all she could recall. She must have fainted.

She once again looked around herself and frowned. Someone must have rescued her and brought her into this cave. But who? And where were they?

Besides the dying fire, there was only a patch of what seemed like grass in a corner, so she could not determine what kind of person had saved her. At least, she hoped they had saved her and not brought her there to harm her. She swallowed at the thought and her hand shifted to her hip only to meet nothing. She glanced down and frowned when she remembered that she had forgotten to retie her waterskin when the snowstorm hit. Her hand then reached down her leg and she let out a relieved breath when she realized her small dagger was still strapped inside her boot. She used the dagger to help cook her meals more than anything else, but if she had to, she would use it to ward off an attacker.

She made to stand up, but she fell back down when her weakened body refused to hold her up. Shaking her head, she growled at herself, hating the weakness that seemed to have overtaken her body. She knew she needed food and rest in order to regain her strength, but how was she going to get food in this place? Her brother was the hunter, not her. She groaned and laid back down when her stomach gave a sharp, loud growl and the world spun around her. She shivered as the cold of the cave permeated her bones and she crawled closer to the meager warmth of the fire.

Rest. She would just rest for a moment and then she would head out. Or she could wait for whoever had brought her here to see if they could help her out some more. They had rescued her from the storm, so they couldn't be that bad, could they?

She did not get the chance to answer her own question because sleep had already taken hold of her.

* * *

Wings flapping softly, Zuko perched onto the rocky wall with one talon, his other arm full of dry wood. Folding his wings close to his body, he crawled into the small tunnel until he stepped into the chilly cavern. His eyes immediately darted to where he had seen the woman last and his tensed body relaxed when he noticed she was still there. He had expected to see her gone when he returned. He narrowed his eyes when he realized what he was feeling was something like relief.

Really, why should he care?

He slowly, carefully, walked closer to the prone form and frowned when he saw that she had not woken up. Was something wrong with her? Did she perhaps hit her head? He carefully added the wood to the dying fire and used his breath to flare the flames back to life. Once it was blazing strongly, he glanced at her one more time before he made his way to his bedding. He was about to lay down when the sound of her stirring and a low moan of pain reached his sharp ears. Without thinking about it, Zuko immediately moved to her side, peering expectedly down at her.

He watched as her long black eyelashes fluttered before he was met with the bluest eyes he had ever seen. He jerked back slightly when something inside him was struck at the sight, causing his heart to suddenly start pounding wildly in his chest. He did not seem capable of moving away. It seemed as if her gaze had rooted him to the spot.

What did it mean?

Katara blinked when she realized she was no longer alone. Her gaze seemed riveted on a pair of the most brilliant, golden eyes she had ever seen. They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them saying a word, before she realized that the eyes were too high and too large, but with the darkness she could not really see why that was.

Suddenly, the person moved closer to the fire and a gasp escape her when she realized it wasn't a person at all, but a dragon! A huge, fearsome looking dragon! Fear immediately beset her body and she froze in terror, her eyes widening impossibly large, her heart hammering rapidly in her chest. She had no water to defend herself with and dragons were known for their speed and strength.

Zuko immediately smelled her fear, saw it reflected in her azure eyes, and disappointment settled heavily in his heart. He knew it. He knew she would react like everybody else did when they saw him. He was not be surprised by it, and yet, it still upset him. He waited for her to start screaming and crying, but she remained still and silent, just staring terrifyingly up at him. He had a feeling she was doing it so as not to provoke the beast from attacking her. Narrowing his eyes, he thought perhaps it was best if he left, so he would not upset her more. So he would not have to see her running away from him in fear.

He moved back and snorted when she flinched. Turning away from her, he moved toward the entrance of the cave. He crawled quickly through the tunnel and once he was outside, he spread his wings and lunged himself into the air. As he flew away from the cave, away from the terrified woman, he told himself not to care.

He did not care.

He should not care.

* * *

Katara remained lying in shock and fear as memories of all the terrible stories about vicious dragons flew through her mind. Dragons burning villages to the ground, eating anything to fill their bellies, ripping people to shreds. Her fear began to subside when she realized she had not been eaten yet. She waited a few more minutes, but when she heard nothing, she slowly sat up. Confused, she saw that the dragon was no longer there. Where did he go? She glanced around cautiously before she realized that the fire was burning more strongly. Her eyes widened when she realized that the dragon must have done it. Who else could have? But why?

She shivered when the warmth caressed her cold body as she contemplated what to do. She should leave, her logical side screamed at her, telling her it was the safest choice. Yet another part of her, maybe an insane part, told her to stay. She had seen sadness in the dragon's eyes when he saw her stiffen in fear. At least, that's what she thought she saw. She bit her lip in indecision as her eyes once again darted around the dark cave.

Maybe she should stay and see what would happen. He had saved her from the storm, built a fire to warm her, and he had not attacked her when he should have. Maybe he was a nice dragon? She snorted at her thoughts. Was she being too optimistic? But what other choice did she have? She did not know how to survive on her own. She had no food or supplies to help weather the dangerous mountain range. She could die by the dragon's hands or she could perish in the wilderness. Her lips curled wryly.

Now she was being too pessimistic. But really, who could blame her? Her once peaceful life had suddenly turned for the worst. She had no choice but to cross through the Earth Kingdom in order to find refuge. She was lost, hungry, cold, and tired. Any help was nice, even if it was a dragon who was giving it her.

Making up her mind, she decided to stay and see what would happen. If the dragon suddenly turned on her, she would find a way to escape him. She hoped.

Noticing her pack lying at her feet, she reached for it and dragged it closer to her. She rummaged around, hoping she had somehow missed a strip of beef jerky, but was disappointed when she found nothing. She grimaced and clutched her stomach when it growled. The pack was her brother's. She had accidentally grabbed it, thinking it was hers when they had gathered their belongings and raced away to escape the storm. It only contained a spare pair of his clothes and boots, his old comb, a blanket, and a few other trinkets that were of no help to her. Luckily, his bedroll was attached to it, so she had something to keep her slightly warm.

Sighing, she placed the pack aside and brought her knees close to her chest as she waited for the dragon to make an appearance. She ignored the voice that kept telling her she was making a mistake.

* * *

Zuko slowly crawled into the small passage, a small piece of caribou-elk carefully held between his fangs. He knew the woman must be hungry, so he had decided to bring her some food. Even though he thought that she must be long gone by now. He stepped into the larger cave, his eyes once again darting to where he had built the fire, and he froze in shock when he saw that the woman was still there. He saw her stand up slowly, nervously, as she turned to face him.

What? Why was she still there? Why had she not run away?

He did not move as he continued to stare incredulously at her. He did not know what to do and he did not want to scare her more than she was if he were to move forward.

Katara swallowed nervously when the dragon just stared at her without doing anything. Her eyes darted down to his mouth and she froze in fear when she saw the piece of bloody meat between his sharp-looking teeth. Oh La, she was an idiot. She should have run away when she had the chance. But when the dragon continued to remain unmoving, she decided to step forward. She paused when she saw him tense, and she shifted uncertainly, before she gathered her courage and walked slowly toward him.

Zuko did not move a muscle as he watched the woman slowly approach him, the scent of her fear and uncertainty tickling his nose. That was another side effect of being a dragon. Somehow he could differentiate emotions through scent. He stared down at her when she stopped a few feet away from him. He suddenly realized that she was younger than he had previously thought. Perhaps no older than twenty.

Katara swallowed when she had to crane her head back in order to be able to see the dragon's golden eyes. She noticed that his left eye seemed more narrowed that the right one and she realized it was because it was scarred. Did another dragon attack him? She cleared her throat nervously and she watched as the dragon tilted his head to the side. For some reason, his action made her feel slightly reassured.

"Uh...um...did you...save me from the snowstorm?" she asked hesitantly.

She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. He probably didn't understand her. She watched as he dropped the piece of meat to the floor and slowly scooted it toward her feet with his snout before he stared at her expectantly. She looked down at the carcass in wonder before it dawned on her that the dragon was giving it to her to eat. She looked back up at him and gave him an unsure smile.

"Uh...thank you…" she mumbled as she slowly bent down to reach for the meat, hoping he didn't attack her like a wolf-dog would when it's food was taken away.

Zuko was surprised at her gratefulness. He could still smell her fear, but she was not crying hysterically because of it and instead had approached him. He could only admire her courage, although it would have been foolish of her if it had been a real dragon that stood before her. Still, he could not help but respect her for it. He turned away from her and moved toward his bedding where he dropped himself with a sigh. He glanced back at her and watched as she turned toward the fire. He stared at her as she took out a small dagger from her boot and began cutting the piece of meat into small strips, then skewering the meat on the tip of her dagger, she held the strips close to the fire. The delicious scent of cooking meat permeated the air and Zuko couldn't stop himself from taking deep whiffs of the smell, wishing he could have some.

As she finished cooking the last piece of meat, Katara wished she had some salt and herbs but she was not going to complain. She had food and her mouth watered at the thought of filling her empty belly. For the moment, she was too focused on her meal to remember there was a fearsome dragon lying behind her. As she took the first bite of the cooked meat, a small moan of pleasure escaped her throat before she tore another piece of meat and chewed happily. As she ate she once again wondered where her friends where. Sokka must be worried sick and Aang and Toph must be as well. She hoped they were safe somewhere. A small frown appeared on her brow. How was she going to find them?

Zuko lifted his head when the woman's scent of contentment suddenly changed into the bitter smell of sadness. He watched as she sighed and slumped as she absentmindedly continued eating. He wondered what she was thinking about that had caused her to be sad before he shook himself. He should not care, he reminded himself. She would be leaving soon anyway.

"You know," the sound of her soft voice brought him out of his thoughts, "I would've had some spices if I had grabbed my pack instead of Sokka's."

If he could, Zuko would have raised an eyebrow at her words, wondering why she was telling him this. As she continued to talk about random things, he realized she wasn't really talking to him, but seemed to be doing so just to fill in the void.

Katara knew she was rambling, but she could not help herself. She was scared and bored and the silence seemed oppressive. Besides, she knew the dragon didn't understand what she was saying, so she talked about silly things just to hear her own voice chase away the silence.

At first, Zuko became annoyed at her constant rambling, but then he found her voice soothing and pleasant, and he listened to her without really hearing what she was saying. He had not had a conversation with someone for a long time (even if it was one-sided), so he allowed her lovely voice to soothe his ears as he lay his head back down. When she suddenly stopped talking a few minutes later, Zuko raised his head to see that she was cocooned in a sleeping bag and had fallen asleep. Shaking his head, Zuko found himself feeling a little amused before he lay back down and closed his eyes so he could find his own rest.

He wondered what the next day would bring.

* * *

Katara's eyes flew opened and she bolted upright as her head swiveled around her, her breathing coming out in quick pants. When she realized she wasn't being mauled by a ferocious dragon like in her nightmare, her tensed muscles relaxed. She brought a shaky hand to her forehead and sighed before she pushed her mussed hair from her face. She glanced around the silent cave and frowned when she realized the dragon wasn't there.

She looked around the gloomy place and wondered where the exit to the cave was, since she couldn't see it. She wiggled out of the bedroll—which was slightly big since it was made to accommodate her brother's larger frame—and stood up, deciding to look for the exit, but before she took even a few steps forward, she heard a sound, as if something was being dragged, before the large form of the dragon appeared. She froze when his eyes slanted her way and she suppressed the urge to run. She noticed another small piece of meat between his fangs and her stomach growled. She blushed in embarrassment before she chided herself for her reaction. Seeing that patches of snow were melting off the dragon's back and head, the brunette knew the snowstorm was still raging outside. It made her wonder why the dragon was going out into such terrible weather just to bring her food. She watched as he dropped the piece of meat and scooted it toward her like he had before.

"T-Thank you," she stammered before she cleared her throat self-consciously.

Zuko was once again surprised the young woman was still there and for some reason it made him happy. Dismissing the feeling, he moved away and lay down on his grassy bedding. He watched silently as she began to prepare her meal. He listened when she started talking once again and he relaxed. She was definitely different from the people he had come across in the first few years after he was cursed. She had not fainted at the very sight of him or ran away, screaming at the top of her lungs about the fearsome monster. Nor did she try to kill him in order to eliminate a threat, or worse yet, to collect parts of his body said to be magical for a large bag of gold. He narrowed his eyes at the painful memories before he firmly shoved them from his mind.

She might still be wary and afraid of him, but she had not allowed that to rule her, and instead she seemed almost kind and respectful of him. He did not know how to proceed. He had never found himself in such a situation before. He wondered what her name was, what kind of woman she was, before he shook the thought from his mind. It did not matter. She might not have run away at first, but that did not mean she would want to stay with him. She must have a family waiting for her, so of course she would leave.

He kept reminding himself of that fact, yet he could not seem to stop himself from wishing otherwise. He growled at himself. It must be because he was starved of human contact, he decided. Why else would he be feeling like this? Why would the thought of her leaving upset him? He had just met her for Agni's sake.

The sound of her singing brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to once again gaze at the blue-eyed brunette. He listened attentively for a moment as she sang. She had a lovely voice and it only relaxed him even more. He had not heard any kind of music in years and he found that he had missed it, as he missed many other things.

Katara did not realize she began to sing as she finished preparing her meager meal. She sang when she was feeling lonely or when she was sad, so she sang a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she had been a child. The thought of her mother brought a pang to heart, but she continued singing anyway since it brought a sort of melancholic comfort to her heart. She missed her mother. She missed her childhood when everything had been simple and happy, when her father had been more carefree and relaxed, when her brother had been less disillusioned of the world, when the only thing Katara had to worry about was not getting scolded for playing with her dolls instead of sleeping.

A sound coming from where the dragon was lying down had her jolting from her memories. Stiffening, she glanced his way. He was staring at her again and she turned back around at the unnerving sight. Why was he always staring at her, almost as it was afraid she would run away? As she placed another piece of meat over the fire, a disturbing thought crossed her mind that caused her to falter in her song. What if the dragon was feeding her in order to fatten her up? Why else would he do it? It wasn't as if he cared for her well-being, right?

Zuko became alarmed as the sudden scent of her fear reached his nose and lifted his head to stare at her, wondering what could be the cause since she had been calm a moment before.

Katara glanced over her shoulder and saw that the dragon was still staring at her before she quickly turned her head back. She took a few shaky breaths and told herself to calm down so she wouldn't alarm him. Her mind raced as she thought of a plan to help her escape. Maybe it was best if she took her chances out in the wilderness instead of waiting for the dragon to suddenly turn on her when she least expected it. Yes, she would find a way to leave this place.

When the scent of her fear subsided, Zuko relaxed and laid his head back down, though he was disappointed when she did not continue singing. As he continued to gaze at her form, as he had been doing ever since he brought her to his home, he wondered if perhaps she was the one who could break his curse. His heart pounded frantically at the thought before he growled lowly at himself. No, he should not get his hopes up. It was impossible.

Besides, even if by some miracle she were to fall in love with him, the cursed would not be lifted unless he returned her feelings. It just made him less optimistic that he would return to his normal body. He had never been in love with someone before. He wasn't even sure he was capable of loving someone in such a pure, passionate way as he had heard his uncle describe when he talked about his late wife.

But it was less likely the brunette would come to love him. How could a woman as beautiful as she be able to fall in love with him? He was cursed with the body of a hideous monster. How would she even want to kiss him? He couldn't even communicate with her. So Zuko really had no hope of breaking the curse. He glanced away from her. It was best that he forget such foolishness.

Katara once again glanced over her shoulder and saw that the dragon was now staring into the fire. He seemed kind of...sad. She wondered what he was thinking before she shook the thought away, dismissing it as unimportant. All she wanted was to get out of the cave and reunite with her friends so they could reach their destination. She frowned when the thought reminded her of why they were making their way across the Earth Kingdom before she angrily shook the memory away.

After she finished eating, she crawled back into her sleeping bag since there was nothing to do and it was cold. Without thinking about it, she began to sing her mother's lullaby once again and she immediately felt better. She took a peek at the dragon a moment later and she was startled when she realized he had fallen asleep. She scowled at him. Was her voice that boring it made him fall asleep?

 _What a jerk,_ she huffed mentally before she frowned. _Wait a minute._

If her voice lulled it to sleep, maybe she could make her escape while he slept. Once he realized she was gone and came after her, she would hopefully be far enough away that he wouldn't be able to find her. She would test her theory tomorrow and see if it worked. It was best that she leave before she found herself in the dragon's stomach. She shuddered as she imagined being ripped to pieces. With a firm nod of her head, Katara relaxed and waited for sleep to take her, hoping everything came out well in the end.

* * *

Early the next morning found Zuko searching for another caribou-elk to bring down to eat as well as to feed to the young woman. The weather was still bad, so he had to search longer for food. As he flew against the biting wind, he wondered what to do with the woman. He knew she must have somewhere to go and that she could not stay with him—even if a part of him wanted her to. He supposed he could keep providing for her until the storm abated and she could move on. Until then, he would enjoy her company as long as he could before he was once again left alone as he had been for years.

Back in the cave, Katara woke herself up with a start as another horrible nightmare left her. Shaking her head and forcing herself to calm down, the blue-eyed woman glanced around the cave to see that the dragon was once again missing. Was he perhaps getting more meat to feed her with? She had saved some of the meat from the previous night and wrapped it in a clean cloth she had found in the pack. She would have to be careful with the only food she had until she could find some more or until she found her friends.

She decided she was going to leave that day before she became the dragon's next meal. For some reason, a part of her felt bad for leaving the dragon, but she firmly told herself it was for the best. Besides, it was a _dragon_ , it didn't have any feelings. She sat up and quickly rolled up her sleeping bag and made sure everything was ready for her departure. When there was nothing else to do, she took out her brother's comb and began to untangle her hair until it fell in smooth waves down her back. She waited anxiously for the dragon to come back so she could set out in her plan.

A few minutes later, she heard a scratching sound before she saw the dragon emerge into the cave. It was once again carrying meat, which he again offered to her, before he moved away to his bedding. Katara felt a bit of guilt stab her chest before she squashed it down as she reminded herself the dragon had no feelings. She grabbed the meat and began preparing it as she pretended everything was normal. She began singing once again and she watched from the corner of her eyes as the dragon relaxed, though it was staring at her again.

As Zuko listened to the woman sing, he let out a soft, content sigh and a thin plume of smoke escaped his mouth. He was again pleased to see that she was still there. He wished he could speak to her, to get to know her better, but he knew that was impossible. The thought only made him frown darkly. How was a woman—how was _she_ —supposed to fall in love with him when he couldn't even speak to her? Why was the cure from his curse so impossible? Perhaps that was the point. He growled at the thought before he decided to ignore it as he once again focused on the woman's voice. She was singing that lullaby again. It was soft and calming, and perhaps a little sad, but it soothed his troubled mind

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

Katara glanced once again at the dragon and saw that his eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly. A soft sound, almost like a snore, came from him and she was sure he had fallen asleep. She continued singing as she carefully stood up and silently picked up her pack. She took a few steps and froze when she saw the dragon shift. She made her voice sound softer and more soothing, even humming a little, and she relaxed when the dragon stilled. She walked across the room, careful of not making a sound, and was glad when the dragon did not stir again. She made her way to the place where the dragon always appeared from, making sure he was still sleeping, and saw a tunnel. Now she understood why she could not see light from outside since the entrance was small. She glanced once more at the sleeping dragon before she turned back around determinedly.

She continued singing as she stooped down and walked slowly through the low tunnel, using her hand to trail along the wall since she couldn't see. When she finally spotted light from outside, she quickened her pace, forgetting to keep singing in her eagerness. She stepped on the mouth of the tunnel and clutched tightly onto the edge with a gasp when her foot almost slipped under her as a powerful gust of snowy wind hit her.

Her eyes widened when she realized the cave was actually a few feet above the ground and she placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart. Her eyes darted along the mountainside, calculatingly the best way to make her descent. Taking a deep breath, she grasped along the rocky walls as she slowly made her way down. The cold, heavy snow made it difficult to see, but she strove on. She ignored the small voice that told her to go back to the safety of the dry cave.

She needed to leave. She had to find her friends.

* * *

Zuko woke up with a start when he realized he had fallen asleep. When he noticed that the young woman was no longer singing, he raised his head to look at her only to freeze when he realized she was not sitting near the fire. He glanced around, but she was not anywhere. Even her pack was missing. She could not have left, could she?

He quickly got up and walked to the other chamber, thinking that maybe she had decided to explore the place and found the small waterfall. His heart was pounding in his chest as he entered the room and looked around. He frowned when he saw that she was not there, just as he had expected. He walked back into the larger chamber and stared down at the flames.

She must have left when she saw that he had fallen asleep. It seemed she had not trusted him and made her escape as soon as she could. What else did he expect? For her to want to remain with a dragon who could not communicate with her? For her to fall in love with him somehow?

He growled loudly at his stupidity. He knew he should not have raised his hopes up and yet, like the idiot he was, he did. He sniffed and walked back to drop himself onto his bedding, deciding it was best to put the incident behind him. He barely knew her anyway, so what did it matter to him if she was gone? It wasn't as if he cared for her.

But he missed her presence, her voice. He angrily shook his head before another thought crossed his mind. It was foolish of her for leaving in such weather. He was sure she would not survive. He snorted. That was her problem, not his.

Closing his eyes and wrapping his long tail around his head, Zuko forced his mind to stop thinking.

Yet, for some reason, his heart felt empty, restless, with her gone.

* * *

 **A/N: Noooo, Katara, come back!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	4. In Which the Dragon Comes to the Rescue

**Hello! Sorry for the late update, but here's the next chapter! Thank you to those who have left me reviews!**

 **Many thanks to PurseMonger for her help!**

AtLA is not mine.

* * *

Chapter Three

 ** _In Which the Dragon Comes to the Rescue_**

* * *

Panting softly, Katara tiredly raised her hand in order to ward off the strong wind blowing snow into her face. She had been using her waterbending to shove the snow away, but her arms were beginning to strain with the effort. As soon as she had reached the base of the mountain, she had sent a quick prayer of thanks to the gods for her safety. There had been several times when she had lost her footing and feared she would have tumbled to her gruesome death. She had begun to run—as much as was possible in the deep snow—to the edge of trees until her lungs began to burn from both the strain and the cold air.

She glanced back over her shoulder for what seemed like the hundredth time to see if she was being pursued. The image of the large red dragon coming after her in rage, his golden reptilian eyes glinting, and white fangs bared, fire shooting from his mouth, only made her force her body to move on. Another icy blast hit her chest like battering ram and threw her onto her back. With a small curse, Katara shook her head and slowly stood up, wiping the wet snow from her face and shivering uncontrollably, before she dragged herself forward.

At first, she had been happy that her plan had worked and she was able to escape without alerting the dragon. She had walked resolutely for a few minutes, determined to find her friends so they could reach their destination. She had even been eager to tell her friends about her unusual encounter with the dragon. But then an hour passed and the weather grew worse. Her mood had then changed into anxiety and even a little anger that the dragon had not come looking for her. Was she really that insignificant? Maybe the dragon decided she was too bothersome to make a meal out of her.

 _Stupid dragon_ , she muttered mentally, though she knew her anger wasn't really directed at him, but at the whole situation and the way her life had changed a few months ago.

She shook her head firmly and shoved those thoughts away. She did not want to think about that right now—or ever.

She gasped when the snow beneath her feet caved in and she fell into a hole. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for a painful impact, but her feet met the bottom quickly. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she had only been submerged up to her torso. Using her waterbending, she made the snow beneath her rise until she was out of the hole only to stumble forward when another large gust of wind hit her back. Swiping her hair away from her face, she shivered and rubbed her gloved hands together as she scanned her surroundings once again. All she could see were countless trees and snow.

The dire situation she found herself in began to make her question her plan of escape. How was she going to get out of there? How was she going to find her friends? How would she even survive?

Teeth chattering, she glanced back to gaze uncertainly at the looming mountain at a distance. She had not realized she had walked that far. Maybe she should return to the cave. There she had been warm and she had been feed. Maybe she had let her paranoia get the best of her and the dragon didn't even want to eat her. If he had wanted to eat her, he would have done so already instead of providing food for her, right? Had she been too harsh in her judgement just because it was a dragon? She bit her lip. But would the dragon even welcome her back? Maybe he was still asleep and he hadn't noticed her absence, so she could probably sneak back in without alerting him. She hoped. Another strong gust of cold wind blasted into her and it made the decision for her.

She took a step forward to return to the mountain only to freeze when a low growl sounded to her left. Stiffening, she slowly turned her head toward the sound and her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Two panther-wolves, large and powerful, bristled at her. Their sharp teeth were bared and their dark eyes stared at her with both menace and hunger. Heart pounding in her chest, Katara forced herself to calm down as she slowly raised her arms to the side, calling forth a line of melting snow to her. The animals snarled at her warningly, but Katara did not wait for them to make the first move as she threw the snow at them. They yelped when they were buried in the snow, but they quickly sprang to their feet with loud growls of fury, shaking the wet snow from their fur and snarling viciously at her.

Narrowing her eyes, Katara raised her arms again only to cry out when something heavy suddenly collided into her back. She fell hard against the cold snow and a sharp pain shot up her right ankle all the way to her spine, but she did not have time to dwell on that when she realized that whatever had hit her was pushing her down into the snow with two large, heavy paws. Her eyes widened when she felt hot, wet breath on the back of her neck and a low growl echoed harshly in her ears. With a cry, Katara flicked her wrist and a torrent of snow collided against the side of the third panther-wolf that was holding her down. Quickly springing to her feet, the waterbender gasped in pain and fell back onto her knees when her right ankle collapsed under her.

Frantic, breath coming out in quick pants, Katara looked up and her eyes darted around. Her heart almost stopped when she realized that it wasn't just three panther-wolves, but an entire pack, of more than a dozen snarling canines, surrounded her from all sides. They all growled at her, eyeing her ravenously, but she could tell that they were being more wary of her than they were before. Some of the youngest, frenzied by the hunt and hungry, would pounce forward before they were driven back by their elders with loud, sharp snaps of their fangs.

Katara swallowed thickly as she suppressed the fear that wanted to overwhelm her, because although it shamed her to admit it, she wasn't as great a warrior as she wished. No matter how much she had pleaded, the only thing she had been allowed to learn was how to heal with her waterbending because of her gender and her station in life. She forced back hot tears of anger, frustration, and fear as the animals began to close in on her.

Determined to take a stand, she narrowed her eyes at them as she swept her hair away from her face. Even if she ended up dying by their fangs and claws, she was going to fight back however she could. She would not die a coward.

* * *

Pacing anxiously in his dark cave, Zuko looked toward the exit for the millionth time before he glanced once again at the spot the young woman had sat before the now dead fire. An hour or two had passed since she had disappeared and she had not returned. He had told himself many times that he should not care, that it was none of his business, but he could not seem to stop the concern that crept up on him. What if something terrible _did_ happen to her? If she were to die, it would be his fault for allowing his pride to get the best of him.

Growling at himself, he decided to stop overthinking and just do what he knew was right. He could not let her die out there in the cold wilderness. Moving swiftly toward the entrance, he crawled through the tunnel then launched himself into the air. His leathery wings quickly caught the wind and he was soaring over the frozen ground, his dark hair ruffling behind him. Large, snowy gust of air hit his eyes as the storm worsened, but he ignored the discomfort in his search for the girl. He hoped he wasn't too late.

His sharp eyes spotted her small footprints a moment later, although they were quickly being covered by the snow. As he neared the edge of the tree line, he heard the sound of several loud growls and yelps. Flapping his wings more quickly, Zuko flew toward the commotion only to narrow his eyes at what he saw.

A large pack of panther-wolves was attacking the young woman, but to his surprise, she was fending them off by erecting walls of snow or throwing piles of snow or balls of ice at the angry animals. He was amazed to find out she was a waterbender, but he soon became concerned when he noticed that she was favoring her right foot. When he saw one of the panther-wolves sneak up on her from behind, preparing to launch itself at her, Zuko growled and flew faster, causing large gusts of wind to blow snow up into the air behind him. A fierce protectiveness he had never experienced before exploded in his chest, almost overwhelming his mind.

Katara panted heavily as she swept her arm to the side to throw a wave of snow at two lunging panther-wolves. She was getting tired and she knew she was not going to last much longer. There were too many and they refused to give up, sensing her weakness. She threw herself to the side with a cry when one of them managed to get close to her, but she had not anticipated that another of the animals had lunged itself at her at the same time. Eyes wide, she waited for it's sharp teeth to sink into her flesh when suddenly a huge talon smacked the panther-wolf, throwing it against a tree. The beast collided against the rough tree trunk with a pained yelp.

Her heart jumped to her throat when a fierce roar pierced her ears, seeming to cause the very ground to tremble beneath them, before a huge shadow loomed over her. Snapping her head up, Katara's eyes widened when she realized it was the red dragon, standing protectively over her.

She could have wept at the relief that coursed through her. The dragon had come back for her!

Zuko snarled at the pack of panther-wolves as he crouched protectively over the woman, his fangs bared menacingly as he glared at them. The animals growled back at him, but did not immediately attack, their instincts telling them they were facing a dangerous opponent. A few stepped forward bravely, the hunger in their bellies driving them, but Zuko spat a fireball at their feet and they jumped back with frightened whimpers at the scorching heat.

One daring animal lunged itself at him, but Zuko swiftly smacked it aside, only to roar in anger when another panther-wolf snuck up behind him and tried to snatch the wide-eyed woman from beneath his large body. Before he could react, however, the waterbender quickly took care of it by driving a torrent of snow against the animal's side, effectively throwing it a few feet away. Zuko bent down and snapped his fangs at two panther-wolves that had tried to snatch her from between his legs.

"Watch out!" he heard the woman shout in alarm.

Before Zuko could straightened himself a panther-wolf sprang up and clamped its sharp fangs onto the back of his neck. He heard the woman gasp, but the dragon only snorted at the pitiful bite. His scales were too hard to be penetrated by the teeth of the smaller animal. With a growl, Zuko jerked his head fiercely to the side and the panther-wolf sailed in the air only to collide back with a few of its companions. More irritated now, Zuko straightened to his full height and let out another ferocious roar.

The waterbender's eyes widened in awe as the dragon spewed a blast of fire into the air in a magnificent display of power that caused some of the animals to crouch low or jump back, their ears slicked back against their heads. With a few more fireballs aimed at them, the panther-wolves finally retreated with loud yelps, their tails tucked between their legs.

 _Well, that was easy,_ Katara grumbled mentally as she watched them go.

Zuko moved back so he was no longer standing over the young woman and looked down at her. He watched as she slowly lifted her head and gave him a sheepish smile. He snorted at her.

Katara could see the disapproval in the dragon's eyes and for some reason she felt ashamed. She had to press her lips together to keep herself from blurting her apologies to him. But when she saw him continue to give her that look, her temper flared a little.

"I know, I know, it was stupid of me to have left!" she grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But can you blame me for running away? Geez!"

Despite the irritation he was feeling for her stunt, and the worry still coursing through him, Zuko could not help feeling amused at her temper. Here he was, saving her, and she was annoyed with him. She was indeed interesting. He cocked his head to the side since he could not respond to her and he watched as she dropped her arms and sighed.

"Sorry. It's not fair for me to take out my frustrations on you," she said quietly.

Zuko was once again surprised by her words and he stared silently at her in wonder.

"Why am I even bothering explaining myself?" he heard her mumble a moment later.

Gathering her strength, Katara carefully got to her feet, wincing when her right ankle throbbed in pain. She was sure it wasn't broken, maybe just sprained, but she would be able to heal it with her waterbending. Careful of not putting too much weight on her injured foot, Katara finally turned to face the silent dragon. He was watching her again with those intense golden eyes and it was all she could do not to look away in sudden nerves.

"Um...thank you…" she muttered, still sure he couldn't understand her, but needing to say it anyway.

She stiffened when she saw one of the dragon's large clawed-hands move toward her. Before she could scream, thinking he was going to strike her, she felt the dragon wrap his talon around her middle and lifted her. She gaped in surprise and stiffened before she relaxed once she realized he was just carrying her. She marveled at the gentleness he was handling her with, almost as if he was afraid he would crush her if he wasn't careful, and she could not help but smile gratefully up at the dragon.

The sweet smile the brunette gave him caused strange sensations to Zuko's chest and it took all his concentration to keep moving and not just stand there staring at her like a fool. A smile from a woman had never affected him as much as this young waterbender's smile did. What in the world was wrong with him?

Growling softly at his thoughts, he spread his wings and sprang into the air. He heard the woman gasp as she clutched tightly onto his claw with both hands and he glanced down to see her with her eyes tightly closed. He growled a soft apology, though he was sure she would not understand. He wished he could fly slowly so as not to frighten her more, but the snowstorm was getting worse and he knew he needed to get her to the warmth and protection of the cave.

Once they neared the entrance of his home, he carefully perched onto the rock face and brought her closer to his chest as he crawled through the small tunnel just like he had the first time he carried her unconscious body back. Once they entered the larger cavern, he gently deposited her by the ashes of the dead fire. He would have to get more wood.

"Thank you," Katara said softly when the dragon placed her on the ground before a sneeze interrupted her. "Excuse me."

When the young woman let out another soft sneeze, Zuko's eyes soften before he became concerned. He had to make sure she didn't get sick. When she sniffled and shivered almost violently, he once again lifted her within his large clawed-hand.

Katara wondered where the dragon was taking her when he picked her up again, but she soon realized that he was walking to the opposite side of the cave entrance. She had not bothered to explore the cave before because the light from the small campfire didn't reach very far. Since she was sure the dragon wouldn't understand her, she didn't bother asking him what he was doing. For some reason, probably because the dragon had rescued her twice and was carrying her gently, she no longer feared him. She could not explain it, but she was sure this dragon was good. She felt safe with him. Did all dragons have a good side or was this dragon unique? Soon she realized they had entered another chamber and her eyes widened at the sight that greeted them.

"Oh, how lovely," she breathed as she stared at the softly running water that ran down the smooth wall and into a small, serene pool which seemed to sparkle. She lifted her eyes and gasped softly at the many glowing crystals embedded in the ceiling.

Zuko was pleased at the woman's awed expression. Never before had he felt satisfaction at another person's delight. Again, he wondered what the strange feelings he was suddenly experiencing meant. He walked toward the pool and carefully placed her at its edge, making sure to keep her steady as she tried not to put too much strain on her injured foot as she sat down. Once she was settled, he lowered his head toward the water and blew a small stream of fire along its surface until the water was steaming nicely.

"Oh, how convenient," Katara said with a pleased grin. "You would've been of so much help back home."

She took the dragon's snort as indignation and she laughed quietly. Maybe he did understand her after all. After narrowly escaping death, she was in such a good mood. But she was cold and tired and very much in need of a warm bath to soothe her aches and chilly body. Her appreciation for the dragon grew. Not only had he saved her, fed her, and kept her warm, but now he was providing her with another comfort when he didn't have to. Really, if he wanted to kill her, the dragon wouldn't be preparing a bath for her, would it?

"Thank you," she said again. "A nice hot bath sounds wonderful."

She reached for her thick wet parka and pulled it over her head, dropping it beside her. Then she began to work on the ties that held her tunic closed.

Zuko's eyes widened when he saw her begin to take her clothes off. He knew she didn't know she was really undressing in front of a man, so he turned away and quickly walked back to the larger chamber to give her privacy.

Katara looked over her shoulder to see the dragon leaving. She wondered why he had left in such haste when she began to undress. She blushed at the thought that he knew it wasn't proper for her to stand naked before him before she shook her head and laughed at her thoughts. She didn't even know for sure if "he" was a he. It was a dragon, for La's sake! It didn't know about modesty and such things.

"The events of today must've really affected your brain, Katara," she laughed at herself.

She finished taking her tunic and under-wrappings off and folded them neatly beside her. She pulled off her left boot and then winced when she carefully took off the right one before taking off her pants and her lower wrappings. She examined her sprained ankle, noticing the small swelling, before nodding at her correct assessment. She could heal it in an instant.

Shivering at the cold, she carefully scooted closer to the edge of the pool and slipped into it. The water only reached to mid-thigh so she lowered herself until she was sitting at the bottom with the water reaching a little below her shoulders. A soft sigh of contentment fell from her lips as the hot water warmed her cold body and soothed her aches. Concentrating on her element, she made the water around her sprained ankle glow into its healing abilities. A minute later, the pain was gone and she let out a relieved breath before she sat back to lean her head against the rocky edge.

Now that she found herself alone, her thoughts returned to the events of a few minutes ago. Her happy mood soon made way to darker emotions.

If only she had been trained to defend herself like she had always wanted, she would have been able to chase the panther-wolves away. But as a woman, her waterbending was only limited to the healing arts. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists as her anger and resentment once again resurfaced. It was only when she noticed that the water was trembling around her that she forced herself to calm down.

She could only hope that with this journey she had undertaken with her friends she would be able to achieve what she wanted, that she would find a place where she could be herself, a place where she felt she belonged.

* * *

Feeling a little embarrassed, Zuko lowered himself back down on his grassy bedding as he waited for the young woman to finish bathing and remembered the sight of her taking off her clothes. He had gone out to gather more wood and returned as quickly as possible. Now a large campfire blazed nicely, warming the rocky chamber, if only a little. There was a part of him—a loud part of him—that demanded he should have stayed and watched the woman undress, but he quickly squashed that irritating voice. Even if he was currently in the form of a dragon, he still had honor and he would not disrespect an unsuspecting woman.

Yet, he could not stop wondering how she looked under all those layers of clothes…

Growling, he shook his head and ordered himself to forget the incident. Besides, what could he do about it in his current form? Nothing, that's what. He closed his eyes as anger and frustration over his situation once again consumed him, causing him to curse his fate as he had done every day since his misfortune all those years ago. If only he had not been such a trusting fool, if only he had been more careful, he would still be human. He would now have been Fire Lord.

A low growl of rage rumbled in his chest as memories of that terrible day slipped into his mind once again. If he could go back in time, he would kill those who placed this horrid curse on him before they could betray him. Even now, he wished he could enact his revenge with every fiber of his being. But he could not go back to the Fire Nation. He would be killed on sight for just resembling a dragon. Even if he managed to reach the Fire Nation Palace, he would not stand a chance.

He was so lost in his dark thoughts that he did not notice the woman enter the main cave until she was close to the blazing fire. He immediately made to stand up in order to help her, but was amazed to see that she was walking normally without any pain showing on her lovely features. She looked at him with an uncertain smile and he gazed at her questioningly, but since he had no way of communicating with her, he let it go. He wondered if there were other surprises with this small woman that he still did not know.

He took a deep whiff and immediately froze. Now that she had taken a bath, her natural scent —a blend of soothing lavender and refreshing rain—tantalized his senses, but it was his reaction to it that caused alarm to shoot up his spine. It was as if an invisible force was trying to pull him toward her, making him want to pull her close to him...to _claim_ her.

He shook his head. What the hell was going on? It felt as if his instincts were going wild, causing strange urges and sensations to spring forth. Was this another effect of being a dragon? But what did it mean? He again shook his head, forcing the sudden haze that seeped in his mind to go away, before he commanded himself to lie back down and calm himself before he alarmed her.

Oblivious to his problem, Katara watched as the dragon settled back on his nest of grass and she felt her nerves settle a little. The dragon _was_ quite intimidating, even if he had saved her. Clearing her throat lightly, she moved toward the warmly blazing fire and pulled out her brother's bedroll. Too bad it was a little too big for her smaller frame because it wasn't as snug and warm as her own sleeping bag. Once she had it arranged to her liking, she sat down on it and rummaged within the pack for her comb before she began to brush her hair, which she had dried with waterbending.

Once he felt himself again, Zuko glanced back at the woman. He watched silently as the waterbender slowly brushed her long, brown locks until it shone and fell in soft waves down her back. Her soothing movements were almost hypnotizing and he felt himself beginning to doze off before the sound of her voice brought him back to the waking world.

"I know you probably don't understand a word I'm saying, but...thank you," Katara found herself saying again. She looked at the dragon and saw that he was staring at her again.

His intense stare made her feel as if he was really interested in hearing what she had to say, and without knowing why, everything she had been holding back rushed out of her like gushing water from a broken dam. Maybe it was because she knew the dragon didn't fully understand her, maybe it was because she needed to talk to someone even if they couldn't help, but she found herself talking about things she had never told anyone else.

"If only Father would have let me train as a waterbending warrior, I could've defeated those panther-wolves," she said as she clenched her hands on her knees. "But no, as a woman, I'm only supposed to be a healer. I'm supposed to be demure, and delicate, and...and _weak_."

Zuko stared at the angry young woman as she glared at the fire, noticing the way her hands clenched on her lap. He had heard that women in the Water Tribes were prohibited to fight, that they were only supposed to be good daughters, wives, and mothers. If they were benders they could only be trained as healers. Their views were so different from his culture. In the Fire Nation, women were trained to be warriors if they so wished. His younger sister was one of the best firebenders of their time. He growled at the thought of his family before he dismissed the memories as he focused on the waterbender. He watched as she continued glaring at the fire.

"I had to resort to sneaking into the training arena to watch the warriors train," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I was able to learn a few moves by observing them, but without proper guidance, it took me months to master them. But then Father caught me and I was placed under the watchful eyes of several guards, so I was no longer able to go and watch."

Zuko frowned at her words. Guards? Her life sounded so restricted, more than he would have guessed. Did every woman in the tribes go through that? He could only imagine what she must have gone through. Although their circumstances were different, he knew how it felt to be restrained against his will, to be stripped of his dignity, and chained down to restrict his movements. The dark memory made him growl softly before he forced it out of his mind, not wanting to dwell on that nightmare.

Katara glanced up to see the dragon was once again staring at her. She wished she could read the expression in his eyes, even wished he could understand her just so she could have someone to talk to. She glanced back to the dancing flames and sighed. The silence was almost depressing. She missed her friends and their chatter and the sounds of them setting up camp. Heck, she even missed Sokka's annoying antics, his inflated ego, and overprotectiveness. And she was sure her father must be worried sick. Although she was still upset with him, she loved him and didn't want to cause him problems.

But she also could not have remained at home. She refused to have her life dictated for her, especially when it concerned something so important to her. She had felt so stifled, so restrained, and resentful when she had been prohibited from doing things such as learning to use her waterbending for combat. Her older brother had been trained as a warrior and just because he was male he had freedom to do lots of things, even travel to other parts of the world. But she had not complained—much—because she knew it was because her father wanted the best for her, because he wanted to see her happy and safe after what happened to her mother. Her chest ached at the memory as she placed her hand over her throat where her mother's necklace rested, covered by her parka's fur-lined collar, before she quickly shoved the memories away.

But then everything had changed when that Earth Kingdom ship had arrived. She could no longer sit back and let things go according to other people's plan. She pleaded with her father to listen to her concerns, but he had calmly told her that everything he was doing was for her own good and that she was too young to understand. She had wanted to scream and lash out at him. He still treated her as if she were a child who didn't know what was best for her.

The only solution she could think of was to travel to the Northern Water Tribe to seek assistance and refuge. She hoped that with her defiance her father would see that she was serious. That he would see that she was no longer a child, that he couldn't dictate her life, even if he thought it was for her own good. Sokka had been against her plan at first, saying it was insane and dangerous, but when she threatened to go alone, he had reluctantly relented to go with her. Aang and Toph had been visiting at the time and they had been enthusiastic to help her. So one night, they had snuck out, climbed on Appa and flew away. It had been an interesting journey.

Their first stop had been to Kyoshi Island where they had encountered the Kyoshi warriors. She had been fascinated by and slightly envious of the female fighters, but she had been mostly amused when Sokka had been bested by their leader, Suki, after he had bragged about his masculine superiority. Sokka had been angry and humiliated at first that he sulked for a whole day, but that had quickly changed when Suki had told him she was impressed by his skills and would be honored to teach him a few of their fighting techniques. By the time Katara and her friends were ready to depart, she was sure Sokka had become infatuated with Suki—though he always denied it when Katara and Toph teased him about it.

They had then stopped in Omashu, though they made sure to be inconspicuous during their stay, before visiting a few other major cities. However, she had been adamant in avoiding Ba Sing Se and her friends did not argue over it considering the reason she had left the Southern Water Tribe in the first place. She quickly changed her thoughts before she became more upset. She had learned and seen so many things when they stopped near villages to gather supplies or flew over mountains, forests, and deserts.

But now she had become separated from her friends. She was stuck in a cave to wait out the blizzard. She felt so alone, so lost. Maybe she should have stayed home and tried to make her father understand once again.

A sound from the dragon snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up. The dragon was staring intently at her again and she could almost see the question in his eyes. Then he cocked his head to the side, and for some reason, it made her think of a curious puppy. She smiled.

"Well, on the bright side, I got to meet a dragon, right?" she said with a grin. Even if she had nothing else, she had hope and a will to live.

If he could, Zuko knew he would be returning her grin with a smirk of his own. He did not completely understand what this young woman had gone through that had made her leave her home, but he could see that she had courage, optimism, and determination. He wished he could offer a word of comfort—something he had never done in his life before—but the damn curse impeded him from speaking. The only thing he could do was nod his head and hope she somehow got his meaning. It seemed she did because she gave him another sweet smile that caused that strange warmth to appear on his chest.

If only he could have her optimism.

* * *

Katara was bored.

Days had passed since she found herself in the cave with a dragon hovering over her and all she had done was bathe in the small pool, sit by the fire, doze off, eat, and sleep. She glanced over at the dragon to see that he was still sleeping after he had brought her more meat. Sighing, she looked away to stare at the fire. Her thoughts once again returned to her brother and friends' whereabouts. She hoped they were all right and wondered when she would be reunited with them. The snowstorm was still raging outside so she could not leave to search for them.

Her thoughts then shifted to her father. She knew he must be upset and worried after discovering that she had sneaked out of the Southern Water Tribe. She had left him a letter telling him her reasons why she had to leave, although she made sure not to give hints as to where she was going. She hoped her letter and her actions could make him see her point of view, but she had a feeling they had not and he was at that moment searching frantically for her. She loved her father dearly, but he was a stubborn man and was very protective of his children, especially her. He thought that he knew what was best for them even when they thought otherwise. She knew all of his worries and overprotectiveness stemmed from what happened to her mother. She just had to hope that this journey could somehow make things better. Perhaps her actions were childish, but she could not think of another plan that could help her in her situation. Talking to her father upfront had not helped at all.

Dismissing her thoughts for the moment, Katara looked back at the slumbering dragon. She admired its gleaming red scales and wings, wondering why she felt like there was something unique about him. He was not like the vicious monsters she had read and heard about. She wondered why a dragon was living in such a cold region of the Earth Kingdom and not in the warm climate of the Fire Nation like the rest of its kind. He seemed to be intelligent by the way he seemed to read her moods and intentions. Though it still unnerved her when she caught him staring at her. Was she the first human he had seen in years or something? Which wouldn't surprise her since there weren't any villages around this part of the country that she knew of. Which once again made her think of her brother and friends and where they could be, and if they had found shelter somewhere.

Another sigh from the young woman had Zuko lifting his head to stare in her direction. He knew she was bored, but he did not know what to do since he was used to just lounging around and sleeping when he wasn't out in search of food. He could not entertain her by talking to her and he could not let her go outside because of the storm. He had thought of using his claws to scribble something on the rocky walls or ground, but decided it would be too much of a hassle. Besides, she would be leaving soon anyway.

By what he had gathered when she talked, he knew she liked to be active, she enjoyed being a waterbender, although she wished she could be a master in it, and she sometimes missed her home. He also knew she wished for spices and herbs to cook the meat with and a thicker blanket. However, what he really wanted to know was her name, the reason why she was in the valley, why she left her home...what she liked and disliked.

A small snort escaped him at his last thought.

Really, he was a fool.

"Why didn't I think of it before?!"

The excited exclamation from the woman brought Zuko out of his thoughts and he stared at her in curiosity when she jumped to her feet and grinned at him.

"I can keep practicing my waterbending at the small pool," Katara found herself explaining when the dragon cocked his head at her.

Zuko watched as she turned around and headed toward the other chamber. Curious, he rose to his feet and followed after her. He stopped near the entrance and watched as the woman stood at the edge of the pool and stared determinedly at the trickling waterfall. She moved into a position he had seen waterbenders use many years ago when he had visited the Northern Water Tribe as a representative of his country. He heard her let out a soft breath and his golden eyes watched her intently. Her arms moved in a series of slow, smooth moves and he watched as a tendril of water rose from the small pond. Sparkling almost ethereally under the light of the glowing crystals, it twirled gracefully in the air before it curled almost sensually around the blue-eyed woman's curvy frame.

Zuko did not know how much time had passed as he continued to watch her waterbend, mesmerized by her graceful actions and the way her body moved. He did not think he had ever been so enthralled by just watching a person use their element. If she thought she was untrained now, he could only imagine how much better she would be when she became a master waterbender.

The sound of her frustrated growl snapped him of his thoughts and he watched as she scowled angrily when she couldn't get a move the way she wanted. Her grumbles and angry mutters amused him a little and he was glad he could not laugh because he was sure she would have turned her anger on him.

"Ugh, why can't I get it right?" Katara groaned as she glared at her hands before she muttered, "I wish I had someone to train with. I think that would help."

If only he was a man again, Zuko would have been more than happy to grant her wish. He was no expert in waterbending, but his Uncle Iroh had taught him a few techniques that were inspired and used by waterbenders. He shook his head when the thought of his uncle brought a pang of grief to his chest. No, he did not want to think about the past. Focusing back on the woman, he watched her concentrated expression as she summoned a small wave of water.

A smile began to spread on Katara's face when a ball of fire suddenly flew over her head and collided against the wave, causing her to jump back in shock. Her startled squeak was drowned out by the sound of sizzling water as steam flew up to the glowing ceiling. She whirled around to see the dragon looking calmly back at her. If she didn't know any better she would say that she could see amusement in his golden reptilian eyes.

"You could have hit me, you jerk!" she yelled as she placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him.

Zuko inwardly found himself laughing at the woman's indignant expression. She was amusing. He did not remember the last time he had found anything amusing. He did not know what he would do when he found himself alone again.

No, he did not want to think of that right now.

Suddenly, a ball of water hit his face. Shaking his head to get rid of the water from his eyes, Zuko growled lowly as he fixed a glare on the woman.

She was staring at him in innocence before she started laughing.

"Ha, serves you right!" she taunted as she grinned at him.

Zuko's shock and irritation quickly vanished at her teasing. Nobody had teased him in such a way before, not even when he was human. It was...nice. He found himself liking the sound of her laughter as much as he did her singing voice. She must really trust him now or else she wouldn't have dared thrown water at the fearsome dragon. He wondered how she could be so at ease with him.

He wondered, not for the first time, if she could be the one to break his curse.

* * *

"I just want to go outside for a little bit," Katara tried to cajole the dragon who was standing guard in front of the exit. She had come to the conclusion that the dragon could somehow understand her. To what extent, she didn't know.

Zuko firmly shook his head and refused to budge, even when her sweet smile fell and she glared at him. He watched as she placed her hands on her hips and intensified her glare, even going so far as impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. Ever since the little incident in the pool chamber a few days ago, he had seen her use the same stance many times. It seemed she had a bit of a temper on her, which only increased his interest. The snow was falling heavily outside and the wind was blowing strongly. She would be buried in snow before she could walk a few feet.

"I promise I won't get myself into trouble or run away! I just need to get out before I go crazy!" Katara growled exasperatedly.

When the dragon snorted and shook his head once again, Katara threw her hands up in the air.

"Ugh, why do I even bother arguing?" she muttered to herself in frustration, "Damn stubborn dragon."

Zuko inwardly smirked. Oh, if only she knew how right she was about him.

Katara spun around and stomped back to the blazing fire and dropped herself on her sleeping bag with a huff. She glanced over her shoulder to throw one more glare at the stubborn dragon before she turned her attention to her forgotten meal. The dragon had arrived a few minutes ago with another small piece of meat for her, but she had been more focused on going outside than eating. Picking up her dagger and the meat, she sighed heavily. Perhaps the dragon was right in not letting her go outside in such weather. It was kind of cute the way he took care of her. It was too bad there was nothing she could do or give him to show her appreciation.

Since there was nothing else to do, she decided she could start drying more strips of meat for when she had to leave. She frowned at the thought. She wanted to leave to search for her friends, but she felt a little bad for the dragon. He would be all alone. But maybe he enjoyed his solitude and wouldn't mind her absence. She glanced back to peek at the red dragon and was startled to see he was staring at her again.

"Ow!" she exclaimed when the dagger slit the palm of her hand in her distraction. She dropped the items to clutch her hand when a thin line of blood seeped out. Luckily, it wasn't a deep wound and could easily be healed with her waterbending, she mused.

Hearing her pained cry and smelling her blood, Zuko rushed toward the woman without thinking about it. He watched as she jumped in surprise when he appeared close at her side, but before she could speak, he nudge her other hand with his snout. When she moved her hand uncertainly and revealed the wound on her palm, Zuko stuck out his tongue and slid it along the cut, causing her to gasp.

"W-what are you doing?" Katara stammered in shock.

She tried to move her hand away, but a low growl from the dragon made her freeze.

Zuko rumbled his approval when she remained still. He had found out his saliva had healing properties years ago when he had been attacked by a group of dragon hunters. Dragons' hides were almost impenetrable, one reason why they were so hard to kill, but their underbellies were very vulnerable and he had found that out the hard way when one of the hunters had been able to slash at his chest. Once he had dispatched of them, he hid in a cave to nurture his wounds. His injury had been painful and he had not known what to do to heal it. Fortunately, he had thought of how animals licked their wounds and wondered if it would help if he did the same. To his surprise, his saliva had sealed the wound in just a few seconds. It had saved his life many times during his years in exile. He hoped it worked the same with humans. He did not like the thought of this woman being in pain.

He licked her wound one more time and found that her blood tasted…nice. Unlike the almost bitter taste of the animals he hunted and ate, this woman's blood was sweet. His mind became a little dazed, almost as if he were in a dream, and an electric current seemed to race down his spine. It was strange. It must be another dragon side effect, he mused absentmindedly.

Wide-eyed, Katara watched as the dragon's eyes became almost half-lidded as he licked her cut one more time. For some strange reason, the sensation was actually soothing and she could feel some kind of tingling along the wound. Her body felt a little warm and her mind felt hazy. What was going on? She blinked when the dragon lifted his head to stare at her. She stared back, admiring the golden flecks of his eyes and the slit pupils before she shook her head and glanced down at her hand. She gaped when she realized the cut was healed. There wasn't even a trace of a scar!

"Wha...How?" she muttered in awe.

She looked back at the dragon questioningly before she shook herself out of her stupor. Who knew dragons had a healing side?

"Uh, thanks," she said before she added, "though you didn't need to do that."

 _"Well, it wouldn't do to have you bleeding all over the ground, now would it?"_ Zuko grumbled mentally.

"Hey!" Katara exclaimed indignantly.

 _"It's not like I hurt myself on purpose, you jerk!"_ she huffed mentally.

 _"I didn't mean it like that,"_ Zuko replied.

 _"Well, it sure sounded…"_ Katara began before she trailed off.

Their eyes widened and they stared at each other in disbelief when they finally realized she heard him and he heard her.

"Did you...Did you just talk?" Katara asked unbelievingly.

Was she going crazy? Was being cooped up in a dark cave with no one else as company but a silent dragon for days finally took a toll on her mental health? But no, she was sure she heard the voice correctly. It sounded male, a velvety baritone that seemed to caress her senses. What was going on?

 _"You...heard me?"_ Zuko mentally replied as he stared intensely at the woman, observing her reactions, hoping she had and it hadn't just been his imagination.

"Yes," the waterbender replied slowly as her eyes landed on the dragon's fanged mouth before she stared back into his eyes. "Well, not really...It's more like I heard your voice…" she began before she mentally added, _"in my head."_

 _"I...can hear you in my head, too,"_ Zuko responded slowly, still trying to understand what was going on.

She really heard him? Or at least his thoughts? And he could somehow hear her thoughts too? How was that even possible? But if she truly could understand him somehow, it would make things so much easier. He would get to know her better. And _she_ would get to know him and perhaps one day she would...He quickly cut off the thought and squashed the hope that rose within him at the possibilities.

"Wait, this means you understood me since the beginning and you didn't let me know?" Katara exclaimed as she narrowed her eyes at the dragon that could apparently mentally communicate with her. Why didn't he do so since the beginning?! He had her babbling to herself like an idiot for days!

Zuko huffed at her and a plume of smoke curled around his mouth.

 _"I didn't do it on purpose. I really couldn't talk to you before. Believe me, if I had known it was possible I would've done so since the moment you woke up."_

"So not all dragons can communicate like this?" Katara asked curiously.

 _"I don't know,"_ Zuko replied gruffly, hating the fact that she still thought he was a beast.

"Okay," Katara said, feeling like she had somehow upset him but not understanding why. "So...why can we hear each other's thoughts?"

Zuko shook his head and managed to somehow shrug his shoulders, causing his large wings to rustle against the hard scales of his draconic body.

 _"I'm not sure,"_ he responded truthfully, his tone conveying his confusion and wonder. _"But since you started hearing me after I healed your cut, I think perhaps that's the answer. Dragons are magical creatures and perhaps my saliva penetrating into your wound and your blood entering my system may have caused our...minds to somehow...connect."_

Katara frowned at his words. It sounded so strange and unreal, so...fantastical. Yet what other explanation could there be? On the bright side, at least she had someone to talk to while she waited for the snowstorm to calm down.

"Okay, that makes sense...I guess," she said uncertainly before she added, "So what now...uh, Sir Dragon?"

 _"I do have a name,"_ Zuko growled out lowly.

"Really?" the waterbender asked. "Do all dragons have names?"

 _"I don't know."_

Katara frowned.

"Okay, well, are some dragons nice like you or are you an exception? Is it true that all dragons are evil?"

 _"I don't know."_

The frown on the waterbender's face deepened.

"You know, for a dragon, you don't seem to know much about them," she stated.

 _"Of course I don't,"_ Zuko growled. _"I wasn't born a dragon."_

"What?" Katara asked in confusion. "What do you mean you weren't born a dragon?"

A sound like a sigh fell from Zuko's mouth as painful memories clashed in his head. He looked away from the curious woman and stared for a moment at the dancing flames, losing himself in memories of another lifetime. When he heard the waterbender shift uncertainly, he glanced back to stare into her curious, blue eyes. Somehow, he had a feeling he could trust her and before he knew it, he was telling her his story.

 _"I wasn't always a dragon. I used to be...a man."_

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, small cliffy! Did you guys catch the small reference to Disney's "Beauty and the Beast"?**

 **For those of you waiting for the next chapter of MHBFY, I apologize for the long wait! I'm having a bit of writer's block, but I'll post the chapter up as soon as I can!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	5. In Which the Maiden Kindly Listens

**I'm back! Sorry for the late update, but here's the new chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Many thanks to my awesome Beta reader, PurseMonger, for her help.**

 **Oh, here are some guidelines to the characters' thoughts and dialogue:**

"Spoken words"

 _Individual thoughts_

 _"Shared thoughts"_

AtLA is not mine.

* * *

Chapter Four

 ** _In Which the Maiden Kindly Listens_**

* * *

Katara stared unbelievingly at the red dragon after his startling proclamation. Surely she must have heard wrong. How could a human transform into a dragon? It was impossible! Was he trying to make a fool out of her? To what purpose, though? As her mind whirled with questions, she realized that the dragon was still staring into her eyes, silently waiting for her reaction. She stared back, her mind still trying to grasp what he had revealed, before she realized that he was being completely serious.

"A…man? How could that be?" she asked hesitatingly.

She watched as his golden eyes seem to dim a little before he looked away to stare into the blazing fire.

 _"I...don't want to talk about it,"_ she heard him murmur in her head.

Something in his tone made the waterbender's chest tightened. There seemed to be a wealth of anger, pain, and sadness in that one sentence and it only made her a little sad and even more curious.

What happened to him?

There was a heavy silence as Katara continued to watch the dragon stare darkly into the fire. She could sense he was lost in his memories, probably painful ones by the way his eyes would narrow into slits and his fangs would clench. She bit her lip, uncertain of what to do or say. When the silence stretched on, she decided to help him dispel whatever dark thoughts had taken a hold of him.

Why? She didn't know.

She cleared her throat delicately and watched as he blinked before he turned his head to look at her. She was glad to see that the anger and sadness she had detected before had disappeared, or maybe just being suppressed at the moment.

Zuko mentally frowned at himself for allowing past, dark memories to resurface, but he had been unable to stop them when the woman asked her question. A part of him had wanted to tell her his entire story, but another part of him was hesitant, and if he were honest, a little ashamed, for he felt it was partly his fault he found himself in the form of a dragon. He watched as the waterbender suddenly stood up and made a small bow, her long brown hair falling over her shoulder at her action.

"I am Katara from the Southern Water Tribe," she introduced herself with a kind smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Zuko could only stare in wonder at the woman. Instead of bombarding him with questions about his sudden revelation like most people would have, she had somehow sensed his hesitation, and instead changed the topic, perhaps to make him feel more at ease. And she was introducing herself and saying she was pleased to meet him as if she were standing in front of a person and not a huge dragon. This woman was...unique.

 _Katara,_ her name swirled in his mind and he found that it was a pleasant name, and if he could have, he would have rolled her name on his tongue several times. He finally realized that she was staring at him expectantly, one eyebrow arched, and he knew she was waiting for him to introduce himself. He was still not ready to reveal everything about himself, but he could give her his name since she had told him hers.

 _"I am Zuko,"_ he replied before he added slowly, _"From, uh, the Fire Nation."_

He watched as the woman, _Katara_ , let out a small laugh.

"I kind of figured you were from the Fire Nation," she replied with a bit of humor before a small frown appeared on her smooth, tanned brow. "Zuko…? I think I've heard that name before."

Zuko held his breath as he watched the woman mused over his name, but he watched as a moment later she frowned and gave a small shrug.

"I know I've heard it before, but I can't exactly remember where," she said as she looked at him curiously.

Zuko did not reply, though it kind of hurt that his name wasn't as famous as it was when he was still human. Everybody had known his name. Perhaps the Southern Water Tribe didn't receive much news from the outside world? He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the woman gasped loudly.

"You...you almost saw me naked the first time you took me to the pool to bathe!" she exclaimed as she pointed an accusing finger at his face, her blue eyes blazing.

 _"It wasn't as if I took you there to see you...naked,"_ Zuko replied carefully, _"You were the one who started to disrobe before I could leave."_

The waterbender spluttered indignantly and Zuko watched with interest as her cheeks flushed with color before she crossed her arms and huffed at him.

 _"I left as soon as you started to...disrobe and I swear I saw nothing,"_ he added just to make her feel at ease. Besides, it was the truth.

Katara stared at him for a moment, her brow furrowed, before she decided he was being honest. Besides, she _was_ the one who started to take off her clothes before he had left.

"Alright then," she replied with a little huff to hide her embarrassment.

Zuko was a little amused that she was more worried over the fact that he almost saw her naked than his revelation of him being a human. Women were strange.

 _"I'm curious about something,"_ he added when he saw that she was no longer upset, _"Why were you wandering around these parts? Especially during this time of year?"_

The waterbender still found it amazing and unbelievable that she could hear his voice in her head, that it took her a minute to process what he had asked her.

"Oh, uh, I became separated from my companions," she began in careful tone, "I was lost for a few days before I stumbled upon this place and...um…"

 _"And you collapsed near the mountain,"_ he continued when she trailed off.

She gave him a brief nod.

 _"Why are you traveling in these parts in the first place? You look young."_

"Uh, we are just…on a road trip," she replied slowly before she added more firmly, "And I'm eighteen!"

Zuko let out a soft snort at her explanation. He had a feeling she was hiding the truth, and for some reason, it upset him that she was lying to him. But he decided not to demand she answer his questions truthfully since she had not pried him for answers before. She had a right to keep her secrets just as he had his. Was he curious? Definitely. But he would respect her privacy.

 _"I...see,"_ he finally replied.

So he had been correct in his assumption that she was no older than twenty. He had been twenty when he had been cursed, but he had lost track of time as the years passed that he no longer knew how old he was now. If he were to guess, he would say he was probably in his mid to late thirties now.

"Yeah," the sound of her voice brought him out of his thoughts. "So I need to leave soon and find my friends."

His heightened sense of hearing heard her mutter under her breath, "Sokka's probably worried sick about me."

Zuko felt his stomach squeeze a little when she said she needed to leave before some kind of feeling tightened his chest as she mentioned this Sokka person once again.

 _Who is this Sokka?_ Zuko mentally asked himself with a growl so low that the woman wouldn't be able to hear. His eyes widened in alarm when he realized that he was feeling annoyed at the thought that this Sokka could be Katara's...lover. He mentally shook his head and growled at himself. Why should it bother him if the waterbender was spoken for?

"So why did you rescue me?" Katara asked, unaware of Zuko's thoughts and the emotions whirling within him. "I've always been curious about that."

 _"I'll admit that at first I thought of leaving you behind,"_ Zuko replied slowly before quickly adding, _"but I felt bad at the thought that you could die when I could've done something to prevent it. So I decided to bring you to my home, so you could be safe until you recovered and the storm passed."_

"Thank you," the brunette replied sincerely with a small smile before she grimaced. "And I'm sorry to be a bother."

 _"I don't mind. I enjoy your company,"_ Zuko found himself reassuring her before he could stop himself.

If he could, he knew his face would be flushed at admitting such a thing. But he found his embarrassment disappear when she threw a beaming smile his way. For the first time in his life, Zuko felt his heart skip a beat and he growled at the strange and unwanted sensation. She must have heard his growl this time because she tilted her head to the side and gave him a questioning look.

 _"Why didn't you run away as soon as you saw me?"_ he asked, trying to distracted himself yet curious as well.

"Honestly, I was terrified," Katara replied truthfully as her hand fidgeted with her hair before she forced herself to stop, "But when you didn't attack me, I decided you mustn't be that bad. Although, it did surprise me that 'a dragon' seemed to be caring for me."

 _"Hm,"_ she heard him murmur mentally.

"Is it strange that I didn't faint dead away at the first sight of you?" she asked with a bit of humor.

Her smile immediately fell when she saw him stiffen and she suddenly had a feeling that she had touched a nerve.

 _"Yes,"_ he responded truthfully, his mood more subdued that before. _"I was expecting you to start screaming and trying to escape as soon as you found yourself in the presence of...a dragon. That's what always happened before."_ A low growl escaped his throat.

Katara felt her heart reach out for him. If what he said was true and he used to be a human, it must have been truly horrible to suddenly find himself being shunned by everybody, to be looked on with horror and fear. She did not know much about what he had experienced, but the little he had revealed made her sad. She wanted to know more, she wanted to ask why he was a dragon, but she held her tongue. She sensed it was a painful subject and she did not want to pry, especially since he had not called her out on her pathetic excuse for being in that part of the country. For some reason, however, she wanted to comfort him, to make him forget his sadness, even if for a moment.

"Well, I'm not your typical damsel in distress," she spoke up with mocking hauteur as she puffed out her chest and placed her hand on her hips that way her arrogant brother would, "It'll take more than a dragon to bring me down. Ha!"

 _"But you did run away later,"_ he reminded her.

Katara flushed and cleared her throat.

"Uh, well, when you kept bringing me food, I, uh, thought that maybe you were trying to...fatten me up so you could make a meal out of me," she murmured in embarrassment.

She watched his eyes widened in surprise before she heard his rumbling chuckle in her head. The sound, although a little distorted since it was in her head, was nice and it brought a grin to her face. She had a feeling he didn't find much amusement around these parts, so she was glad she was able to humor him a little.

Zuko had at first eyed her in confusion for a moment—studiously ignoring the way her breasts had jutted out at her action—before he realized what she was trying to do. For the second time that day, he found himself chuckling in amusement. He was grateful for her efforts.

 _"So you are a waterbender,"_ he stated as he lay down on all four feet and looked at her with interest.

"Yes," she replied enthusiastically as she sat back down on her bedroll.

Zuko ignored the sweet, lingering scent of her blood that still clung to the dagger as he listened quietly as the blue-eyed woman talked excitedly about her abilities, mostly the healing side of waterbending. He could hear the pride in her voice when she mentioned that there hadn't been a waterbender in her family since her grandfather's generation before he heard her grumble something too low for even him to hear.

 _"I...heard you mention before that you wished to be a master waterbender but...your father only allowed you to learn waterbending for healing,"_ Zuko began slowly and curiously. _"Why is that?"_

Katara crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"It's traditional for women to use their waterbending only for the healing arts while the men learn it for combat," she explained a little bitterly. "I tried to convince Father, but it's even more difficult since I'm…" she trailed off and then cleared her throat.

 _"Uh, never mind,"_ Zuko heard her finish in his head.

The dragon cocked his head in curiosity, but she did not notice as she absentmindedly began to clean the bloody dagger she had dropped earlier. He still found it incredible that he was able to hear her in his head and that she was able to hear him in return. He sure had not expected such an outcome. He had expected to live in silence for the rest of his life. Her actual voice was like a sweet tingling in his ears, but when he heard it in his mind it was like a soft murmur. He wondered how his voice sounded to her.

"So, uh, you mentioned you're from the Fire Nation," Katara said as she again looked at the silent dragon staring down at her.

She wondered if he knew what was going on in his homeland, of what the Fire Lord was trying to do to the world—which in a way, was what caused her to be in her current dilemma—but decided not to bring up the subject. She did not want to upset him more than he was and she did not want to talk of the reasons why she left her home.

"Were you a firebender when you were...human?" she asked tentatively.

The idea still sounded incredible to her.

Although the memory brought a pang to his chest, Zuko thought this topic was acceptable. Besides, he had always been proud of his bending abilities.

 _"Yes, I used to be a firebending master,"_ he replied, his tone full of pride, _"I was also skilled in martial arts and swordsmanship, I used to wield dual broadswords."_

"Wow, that's impressive," the waterbender said in awe, and admittedly, a bit enviously. "Do you miss firebending?"

Zuko was silent once again for a moment as he lost himself in past memories before he nodded his head.

 _"I do."_ His response was a soft murmur in Katara's mind. _"But it's not so bad since I can still produce fire."_

Katara brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs as she stared at the suddenly solemn dragon. She could not imagine being without her waterbending. It was a part of her, it made her who she was. She wondered how he had handled his sudden loss in firebending. However, her biggest question was how had it felt for him to suddenly find himself no longer human? Why and how was he a dragon? The only conclusion she could come up with was that ancient and rare thing called magic.

 _"So you can heal with your waterbending,"_ his baritone voice snapped her from her thoughts. _"That is why your ankle isn't sprained anymore."_

"Yeah," Katara responded proudly as she unwrapped her arms from around her legs and sat up straighter. "Speaking of healing abilities," she added curiously, "I didn't know dragons', uh, saliva have healing properties."

The waterbender felt heat rise to her face as she recalled his rough tongue licking her palm. A small shudder raced down her spine as she remembered the sensation that had racked through her as he healed her cut and she self-consciously pressed her palm against her stomach. She felt even more self-conscious now that she knew it was a _man_ who actually _licked_ her palm, even if it was just to heal her cut.

Zuko watched with interest as the woman's cheeks reddened and he did not miss the movement of her now healed hand. The memory of the scent of her blood, of the sweet and intoxicating taste, assaulted his senses so strongly that he had to shut his eyes and take deep and calming breaths to destroy the sudden, almost violent, feelings that erupted within him. What in the hell was wrong with him? The thought of someone's blood and scent shouldn't… _arouse_ him to such an extent. Which in and of itself was strange since he had not had any sexual thoughts since he was cursed. It had something to do with his dragon curse. What else could it be? But more importantly, what did it _mean_?

"So how did you know your saliva can heal?" he heard Katara ask.

The question immediately dispelled the chaotic emotions churning within him as past memories once again slammed into him. Of pain, fear, confusion, and anger. A low growl rumbled in his throat and smoke seeped from the sides of his maw and curled upward.

 _"Dragon hunters,"_ he said simply.

"Dragon hunters?" she asked with a frown.

Once again silence permeated between them, the only sound being that of the crackling fire and the rustling of the waterbender's clothes as she shifted uncertainly.

 _"Not everybody ran away from me when they saw me,"_ he finally spoke, his tone quiet, morose, and a little bitter. _"Some actively hunted me down."_

"What?" Katara gasped.

 _"Every once in a while, I would come across a dragon hunter or a group of them,"_ Zuko continued and a low growl rumbled in his throat. _"In the beginning, when I was still adjusting to...my sudden transformation, I did not know how to fight them off. It was during these...skirmishes that I learned almost nothing could penetrate my scales, but it was also during these times that I learned, in the most painful of ways, that I wasn't completely invincible."_

"What...what do you mean?" she asked with a small frown.

Zuko eyed the brunette warily for a moment, but when he saw her ocean-blue eyes only held innocent curiosity—and dare he say it, compassion—he knew he could trust her, which was strange because he wasn't one to trust people so easily, even when he was human.

 _"The scales on the underside of my body are...softer,"_ he explained, though he hated to admit any kind of weakness. _"The more experienced hunters knew that, so they always aimed for my chest, right at my heart. A few came quite close to killing me."_

"How horrible," the waterbender breathed as she pressed a hand to her own chest.

Zuko felt his heart warm a little at her sadness for his own predicament. She must be a compassionate sort of person, he mused. He had not encountered many people like her, even when he was human since Court life was full of intrigues and lies, of people hiding behind facades and using any means necessary to achieve the highest positions of the royal court. It was because of such people that he was currently living the way he was. But he could sense this blue-eyed waterbender was completely different from the devious women of Fire Nation nobility. It was different. Nice.

 _"It was only by pure chance that I learned I could heal my wounds with my own saliva,"_ the dragon rumbled mentally, _"It has saved me many times from bleeding to death."_

"But why did they attack you so much?" she asked with a deep frown.

Zuko was surprised to detect a bit of anger in her tone and he could see her clenching her hands on her lap. The male's mood darkened and anger spiked in his chest as memories once again assaulted him, causing fire to lick along his fangs before he forced himself to calm down so he wouldn't frighten Katara. He did not want to tell her the main reason, but he could tell her the rest.

 _"There was a time in the Fire Nation, many centuries ago, when dragons were considered sacred and magical creatures deserving of respect and awe,"_ he began in a solemn tone, _"They were revered because it was believed that they were the first firebending masters."_

"Really?" Katara asked, intrigued, "What changed?"

 _"I'm not exactly sure, but a century ago dragons began to be hunted because they were believed to be monsters,"_ Zuko stated simply, _"Many people hunt them in order to protect their homes and families."_ Then with a growl, he added angrily, _"Yet there are those who do it for sport and others who do it to sell dragon parts in the markets."_

"What? Why?" Katara exclaimed and she wrinkled her nose.

 _"Many believe some of the dragons' parts, such as their claws, fangs, and horns, have magical properties,"_ the golden-eyed male explained. _"There are even myths that say that bathing in their blood could grant you their long lifespan."_

" _Is that...true?"_ Katara whispered mentally, her blue eyes wide.

 _"I wouldn't know,"_ he replied with a shake of his large head.

"Is...is that why you're living here in this remote part of the Earth Kingdom?" she asked softly as she stared sadly into his eyes.

Another short silence followed her question

 _"Yes, that's part of it,"_ he responded slowly and his eyes fell shut as another ache appeared in his chest.

There were other reasons as to why he had fled the Fire Nation, his home, but they were too painful to recount. He had already told this woman more than he had planned. Hell, he had talked to her more than he had talked to anybody else except his mother and his uncle. He wanted to believe the reason he told her so much was because he was starved of conversation after living so many years alone, but part of him knew that wasn't the truth. If it had been someone else, he would not have revealed so much about himself. There was something about this woman that made him trust her, that made him want her to understand and know him. Was it because he was desperate for his curse to be broken? He did not know.

Sitting on her bedroll, Katara watched as the dragon's eyes shuttered, hiding the pain she had detected within them. She was saddened at what he had gone through, yet she knew there must be more than what he had just revealed to her. The thought only brought a pang to her chest for his plight. Although their situations were different, they were also somehow similar. He had fled from his home in order to survive. She had run away from hers in order to escape a horrible fate.

They remained silent for a long moment, each lost in thoughts about their past and what they had learned of each other, as little as it was. They were each curious to know more of the other, but were hesitant on what to say, not wanting to pry and not wanting to be asked.

The silence was disturbed when the waterbender's stomach suddenly growled. Zuko opened his eyes and turned to look at the embarrassed woman.

 _"I'll go hunt for more food,"_ he spoke up as he stood up on all four of his large feet.

"It's okay, you don't have to," she quickly said as she craned her neck to look up at him, a small frown on her face. "I don't want you to go into that storm."

Zuko was touched at her genuine concern. Except for his uncle and mother, nobody else had shown any concern for him or cared for his well-being.

 _"But you're hungry,"_ he stated.

"I have some cooked meat I saved up yesterday," she explained.

 _"Then I will bring more,"_ he said before he quickly added when she opened her mouth to protest, _"Besides, I am hungry as well and I need to hunt for my own food."_

"Oh, okay then," she said as she settled down, though he could see that she was still worried.

 _"Besides,"_ he continued with an arrogant sniff, _"My high body temperature can withstand a measly snowstorm."_

Katara rolled her eyes. She mentally grumbled at his arrogance and heard his muffled laugh in her head. Smiling, she watched as he walked away and disappeared through the tunnel.

* * *

Zuko's keen eyesight scanned the snowy ground beneath him as he soared through the air. He ignored the biting wind and heavy snow that bombarded his body as he got lost in his thoughts. He was still shocked at the fact that somehow, maybe even magically, the beautiful waterbender could understand him. It was still a mystery to him that something like this could happen, but he was not going to question it. He could communicate with someone! After so many years of being unable to speak to anyone, of being alone and misunderstood.

The woman, Katara, was different from any woman he had ever met as a prince. Granted, he barely knew her, but somehow, he just knew she was unique, maybe even special. She was a pleasant companion. Not only was she physically beautiful, but she was interesting and she was kind. She didn't even know him and yet she had felt sad and indignant for him as he recounted part of his story to her. She had even tried to make him laugh in order to dispel his dark mood.

Could it be? Could she be the woman he could fall in love with? Could she love him in return? Could she be the one to break his curse? The thought made his heart beat loudly in anticipation before he viciously crushed the thought.

No. He was only fooling himself. Even if they could understand each other now, how would she be able to fall in love with him when his body was that of a dragon? He had nothing to give her. He did not even have a home. Besides, she would leave soon, to find that Sokka guy she seemed so worried about. Zuko was once again surprised at the irritation he felt at the thought of this mysterious man.

Shaking his thoughts away, Zuko refocused on his hunt. He quickly spotted a large puma-lynx digging at a hole near a large tree. Zuko had a feeling the large feline had found the burrow of some smaller animal and was trying to dig it out. Perfect. The puma-lynx would put up more of a fight than a caribou-elk and he was itching to release some tension. Plus, he would get a meal out of it.

Spreading his dark-red wings wide, sharp claws extended, he let out a loud roar that pierced the air before he swooped down on the suddenly hissing animal.

* * *

After staring at the fire in silent contemplation, Katara decided to take a drink and wash her dagger and hands in the small pool. Once done, she walked back into the bigger room and sat down before the warm fire as she waited for the dragon, no, _Zuko_ , to return from his hunt.

"Zuko," she repeated slowly, a small frown appearing on her smooth brow.

She was sure she had heard that name before, but she could not remember from where. She racked her mind to see if she could figure out why his name sounded so familiar before she gave up when she couldn't come up with anything. Maybe it would come to her later. Her thoughts once again shifted to the earlier revelation. She still could not believe that she and Zuko could communicate mentally. She still found it so surreal. Though as he had said, dragons were magical creatures so perhaps it wasn't so impossible.

But more importantly, how could a human turn into a dragon? It had to be magic, which that in itself was both amazing and bewildering.

Magic wasn't as prominent as it used to be many centuries ago. She had read books that told stories of a time when magic ruled the world, when people could do many amazing feats. It was even said that the ability of bending the elements derived from magic. Bending abilities were much more common nowadays, with bending masters being the most powerful and respected of all. She didn't know exactly why magic and magic users began to dwindle, but there were still a few people who had the ability, though they were difficult to find. But those who used magic were highly sought after for one thing or another.

Did Zuko perhaps have magic abilities along with his firebending and that was why he could transform into a dragon? No, that couldn't be it. If he had magic, he would have been able to transform himself back into a human and wouldn't have had to suffer so much under the hands of dragon hunters. So why was he a dragon? Why did he live in this remote part of the Earth Kingdom so far away from his homeland? It must have been someone else who turned him into a dragon.

Her eyes widened as a horrifying thought appeared in her head. Perhaps he was cursed? But why? Why would someone do that to someone else? It was just cruel.

She felt her heart constrict in sadness as she recalled the sorrow, pain, and anger she had been able to detect in Zuko's eyes and voice. It made so much sense that he was cursed. But why didn't he tell her? She wanted to ask him if her suspicions were correct when he returned, but she shook her head and decided not to pry. He must have his reasons why he kept his secrets to himself and she could only imagine how painful the subject must be. How lonely he must feel…

When she heard sounds coming from the tunnel, Katara got to her feet, and watched as Zuko entered the cave. Her heart leapt to her throat once again at the impressive sight of the magnificent dragon. She wondered if she was the only person who had been able to stand so close to a dragon without being attacked. She watched as Zuko shook himself to get rid of the melting snow before he approached her in slow, precise movements, almost as if he was still trying to prevent her from being scared and running away in fear. She could only feel saddened that after so many years of being feared, he still felt the need to be careful. Putting on a smile, she did not wait for him to reach her and instead walked toward him without hesitation, watching as he paused to watch her uncertainly.

She finally realized why he was being cautious when her eyes landed on two squirrel-rabbits being held gingerly between his sharp fangs. There was a large amount of blood on his mouth, and she knew it wasn't because of the small animals. He must have fed on something bigger. She suppressed a shiver at the gory images that flashed through her mind.

 _"I hope I didn't take too long,"_ Zuko said mentally as he carefully dropped the two dead squirrel-rabbits at the woman's feet.

"I didn't even notice the time," Katara reassured him with a small smile.

Zuko relaxed once he realized she could still hear him. As he had approached the cave, he had begun to worry that perhaps the ability of them hearing each other's thoughts had faded somehow.

Katara reached down to pick up the animals. It was a good thing that she had learned to skin animals and cook them, or else she would have fainted at the sight of them like she had seen a few women do during her travels. Though she had a feeling they did it mostly so the young men they were trying to impress would catch them, she mused with a mental grin.

Zuko watched as Katara picked up the bloody animals and made her way to the fire after thanking him. Inwardly shaking himself, he moved toward the other small chamber to wash down the taste of the puma-lynx he had defeated and eaten. As he bent down to take a drink, he froze when he caught sight of his bloody muzzle in the water's reflection. He had become so used to the way he hunted and ate, that he forgot how bloody he sometimes got. He must have been a terrifying sight, yet Katara didn't even bat an eye when she greeted him. Did that mean she no longer feared him? That she trusted him not to hurt her? Those thoughts caused a satisfied feeling to surface in his chest before he shook the thought away as he finally cleaned his maw and drank deeply from the cold pool.

Once the metallic taste of blood had completely vanished and he was presentable—as much as a large dragon could be—he returned to the main cavern. His eyes immediately landed on the woman sitting by the fire, preparing her meal. Quietly, he made his way to his grassy bedding and gracefully lay down, folding his wings to his sides and curling his tail around himself. He watched with silent fascination as Katara skinned the squirrel-rabbits with practiced skill before skewering them with two large sticks she had salvaged from the pile of wood he had brought the other day and propped them up by the fire.

The sound of her soothing voice reached his ears as Katara began to hum softly. The little tune sounded happier than the melancholic lullaby she had sung before and his body relaxed at the melody as he continued to watch her. Ever since he had rescued her and brought her to his cave, he could not seem to stop himself from staring at her. There was just something that seemed to be drawing him to her, but he could understand why or what that was.

The scent of roasting meat reached his senses and he took a deep whiff of the delicious smell before letting out a wistful sigh as memories of past bountiful banquets during glamorous celebrations floated in his mind. What he wouldn't do to be able to eat human food and not bloody, raw meat.

"Would you like some?" he heard Katara asked.

Blinking, Zuko refocused on the waterbender looking at him expectantly as she held out the second cooked squirrel-rabbit by the end of the stick.

 _"Thank you, but I already ate,"_ he responded.

Katara tilted her head to the side and a curious expression settled on her face.

"So, what do you usually eat?" she asked softly.

She watched as the large dragon shifted uneasily in his grass bedding and averted his gaze to the side.

Glancing away from her face, Zuko did not know how to respond. He did not want to disgust or frightened her by discussing his feeding habits. It would just reinforce the fact that he was a beast and not a human. Sensing her eyes were still on him, he glanced back to see her giving him an understanding look.

"If you think I'd be scared, you're mistaken," she told him seriously, although her voice was soft and kind. "Your...circumstances have not given you much of a choice on what to eat, right?"

At her words, at the sympathetic gentleness in her large blue eyes, Zuko felt as if the wall he had built around his heart began to crumble a little. He eyed her warily for a moment before he slowly relented and told her of the manner in which he fed himself and what animals he usually hunted. Once he finished, he waited with almost bated breath for her reaction. Would she think him a horrible monster now?

He saw her wrinkle her nose, and despite the trepidation he was feeling, he found the action adorable.

"Is raw meat...good?" she asked tentatively.

When he saw that she was not disturbed by his account, the dragon immediately relaxed before he shrugged one large shoulder at her question.

 _"It's tolerable,"_ he responded slowly.

There was a small pause before he continued in a voice that sounded bitter and dark in Katara's mind.

 _"The first time I was...forced to eat raw meat, I was disgusted at the thought. I may have found myself in the body of a dragon, but my mind was human and the mere idea of eating uncooked and bloody meat was…"_

"Horrifying," Katara finished for him in a sad, soft voice when he trailed off.

The waterbender watched him nod his head slowly before he closed his eyes and bared his teeth a little. She could only imagine the thoughts that must be running through his head, and although she was curious about it, she was glad that she could only hear certain thoughts of his. She wanted to ask him more about his story, but she bit her lip and held her tongue. It was obvious his memories were painful and it was understandable that he would be adverse to reveal everything. Besides, they barely knew each other, so it was reasonable that he would not trust her so easily. And she had not exactly been truthful about who she was and why she was there either.

Sitting by the warmth of the fire, Katara watched as the dragon laid down his head upon his large talons and let out a deep exhale, thin plumes of smoke drifting from the corners of his mouth, his eyes staring blankly at the ground before him. The image he presented, of a mighty red dragon brought low, of the man within brought down to the deepest of despairs, made the waterbender's heart constrict almost painfully in her chest. She hated seeing people or animals in pain. She wished there was something she could do to help him. To bring him back to the person he truly was and to erase the anger and sorrow she could detect in his voice and eyes. But she did not know how. She was no magic user, but at that moment she wished she were so she could release Zuko from his figurative prison.

She frowned. She may not have magic, but at that moment, she promised herself that she would help him in other ways; by keeping him company, by taking his mind off of painful memories, by treating him like the human he missed being until they had to part ways. The thought brought a pang to her chest, but she decided to think about that later. For now, she needed to cheer Zuko up. Squaring her shoulders, Katara once again picked up the cooked squirrel-rabbit and marched over to the morose dragon.

Hearing the woman's small footsteps, Zuko's reptilian eyes slanted her way and he watched as she walked resolutely toward him. He lifted his head slightly to regard her in curiosity and a little apprehensively. He blinked when a nicely roasted squirrel-rabbit skewered in a stick was shoved into his face. Tilting his head, he looked at the waterbender who was determinedly offering the stick to him.

"Here, you can have this," she told him with a smile. When he shook his head, she added, "I can't finish two of them by myself. Besides, I'm sure you miss the taste of cooked meat."

Zuko once again blinked at her words before he looked down at the tasty morsel being held close to his snout. He could detect the delectable aroma of cooked meat and he felt his mouth water. He had to stop himself from licking his chops in anticipation.

 _"Thank you,"_ he said as he leaned down and carefully grabbed the meat between his front teeth.

As he leaned back, Katara pulled the stick backward and the meat slid easily off. She grinned up at him, waiting expectantly for him to eat, and with a mental chuckle, he easily gulped up the small piece of meat. It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him, it could barely be considered a bite for the size of him, but either way he bit back a moan at the flavor of the cooked meat hitting his taste buds.

"Wait. Couldn't you have used your…fire breath or something to cook your food?" the brunette asked with a confused frown.

 _"I tried,"_ she heard Zuko say before he continued in what she believed was an embarrassed murmur, _"But for some reason, I kept burning the meat to a crisp…"_

Katara placed her hand to her mouth to hold back her amused giggle, but a glare from the dragon quickly killed the urge. Instead, she threw him a sheepish smile. Zuko snorted.

 _"You cooked the meat perfectly,"_ he said.

"It would've tasted better if I had some seasonings," he heard Katara say almost apologetically.

 _"It was still good,"_ he responded reassuringly, _"I can only imagine how delicious your food would taste like if you had any seasonings."_

For some reason, Katara found herself blushing at his small compliment. Men usually only flattered her on her looks and nothing else.

Zuko found himself liking the reddish tint on the blue-eyed waterbender's cheeks and he found pleasure in the fact that he was able to please her.

"Thanks," Katara replied with a laugh as she moved back to sit by the fire to finish eating her own meal.

She faced the reclining dragon, who was watching her almost languidly as she bit into the cooked meat. She wondered if he even realized that he stared at her a lot, but she reasoned that was probably because she was the only other person in the cave with him and he had gone too long without company.

Zuko blinked slowly as he watched Katara gingerly blow at the hot meat before she took another careful bite. His eyes riveted to her mouth and he watched as her tongue swiped across her lower lip to lick the juices which left the plump flesh glistening in the firelight.

Suddenly, he was imagining his mouth pressed against hers, his own tongue taking the same path along the seam of her lips, his teeth gently nibbling, before he drove inside her mouth to deepen the kiss. He quickly shook the thought away and his eyes widened in surprise. He had not thought of such things since he was cursed, but here he was, wishing he could taste Katara's lips, wrap her in his arms, press her body tightly close to his. Heart beating rapidly in his chest, his eyes darted back to her face, expecting to see her looking at him in disgust, but she was too busy picking at her food to notice his apprehension.

He relaxed. Good. It seemed she wasn't able to hear _all_ his thoughts. That would be troublesome and embarrassing. Shaking his head and growling low in his throat, he laid back down. How much more of a fool could he be? Letting himself imagine such things when he knew there was no way it would ever happen.

Fortunately, he was distracted when Katara began to talk to him. He listened quietly as she told him of things she had seen during her travels, although he was sure she hid some things. He would occasionally recount stories from some of the travels he had taken when he was human and even as a dragon, although he also was vague about those. Neither of them called each other out over their omissions, however. It was only when Katara let out another soft yawn did Zuko tell her they should sleep. After Katara had cleaned up after herself and washed her hands, she slid into her bedroll with a sleepy sigh.

"Good night, Zuko," she said softly as she snuggled into the warmth of the sleeping bag. Instead of the fear and uncertainty she had felt the night before she tried to escape, she now felt a strange sense of comfort and safety.

 _"Good night, Katara,"_ Zuko responded.

How long had it been since someone had wished him a good night and he had returned the sentiment? Now that he thought about it, the only people to wish him goodnight had been his mother and uncle. The thought of the two most important people in his life brought a sharp pain to his chest and he quickly brushed off his memories.

Silence permeated the air before Zuko heard Katara shift slightly in her place.

"Hey, Zuko?" he heard her whisper drowsily.

 _"Yes?"_

 _"I'm glad we can hear each other's thoughts,"_ she murmured in his head, her tone soft and sleepy. _"I'm glad you don't have to be alone anymore."_

Zuko was silent as her words struck a chord within him and his chest tightened with a strange emotion.

 _"I'm glad too,"_ he whispered honestly even as he heard her let out a dreamy sigh.

As her soft breathing reached his ears, Zuko closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he reminded himself that she was there only temporarily. Soon, Katara would leave and he would be all alone once again. He did not know how he would be able to continue living without talking to someone or without having any company after this experience.

Mentally sighing, Zuko opened his eyes and he silently regarded the sleeping visage of the beautiful waterbender. He kept watch over her for a long moment as the fire blazed slowly, wondering at the changes he could feel within him because of Katara, wondering what the future would bring.

* * *

 **A/N: Ooh, the mystery.**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	6. In Which the Dragon Reveals His Secret

**I hope you guys had a great Christmas! Sorry for the late post. Here's the new chapter, enjoy!**

 **Many thanks to PurseMonger for her awesome help!**

 **Oh, and I took some liberties with AtLA canon for plot purposes. I hope you guys don't mind!**

AtLA is not mine.

* * *

Chapter Five

 ** _In Which the Dragon Reveals His Secret_**

* * *

A pleased sigh escaped the waterbender as she relaxed in the soothing hot water. She was once again bathing in the small pool, although she really wished she had some soap on her. A smile curled her lips and she suppressed a giggle at the memory of Zuko, in his large draconic body, practically running away when he finished warming up the water for her bath. She appreciated his respect for her privacy, though, especially when she had still believed he was just a dragon. She was sure if he had been another man he would have taken advantage of her ignorance and remained to watch her undress. She shuddered in disgust before she frowned as the memory of a young man with an arrogant smirk and barely hidden lust in his eyes flashed in her mind. She growled under her breath before she quickly shook her head to dispel the memories and instead decided to focus on other things.

Three weeks had passed since Zuko rescued her from the snowstorm and brought her to his cave. Her appreciation for him grew at his care for her simple needs such as food, water, and warmth. The more time she spent with him, the more she found she liked being in his company, even if he did not talk that much. She had come to realize he was a reserved individual and his taciturn personality only intrigued her instead of putting her off. It made him seem more mysterious and complex. She mused it was probably because she was used to men who were loud, brash, and always boasting of their greatness and how lucky she would be to have one of them as her husband. She rolled her eyes.

She and Zuko had come to realize that they only heard each other's thoughts when they were trying to communicate with one another. Which was great because it would be horrible to have someone know all your thoughts and to have no privacy. And some thoughts would just be too embarrassing to share.

As she washed her long hair, her thoughts shifted to her brother and friends' whereabouts as it tended to do ever since they became separated. She frowned, wondering once again if they were all right. Where could they be? Were they concerned about her safety? She was sure her brother was going crazy with worry. Had they found shelter when the storm hit? Her eyes widened in alarm. What if they were in trouble or hurt, and she wasn't there to help? She would never forgive herself if something were to happen to them since it was because of her that they had left the comfort of the Southern Water Tribe. While they were out there in the cold, she was here, enjoying a warm bath. She clenched her teeth. She needed to find them!

Anxious and worried, the young woman quickly rose from the water and stepped out. Using her waterbending to extract the moisture from her hair and skin, and ignoring the cold of the cavern, she swiftly put on her clothes and boots before rushing toward the main cave.

Resting on his grassy bedding as he waited for Katara to finish her bath, Zuko snapped his head up in alarm. He could smell her anxiety before he saw her dash from the pool chamber and to her pack.

 _"What's wrong?"_ he asked worriedly as he watched her begin to stuff her brush and other things into the large bag.

"I have to leave," she responded absentmindedly as she moved to roll up her bedroll.

 _"Leave?"_ the dragon asked as he quickly rose to his feet in unease. Why? What was going on? Why did she suddenly want to leave in such a panicked state?

"I need to find my friends!" Katara added as she quickly attached her bedroll to the pack before she gritted out, "They could be hurt somewhere out there in the cold while I'm just sitting here all warm and cozy."

At her words, Zuko felt his heart pound in sudden panic. No, no she couldn't leave! Not now, when he was finally able to communicate with someone and was no longer alone. Just when he was beginning to get to know her. Plus it was dangerous with the snowstorm still raging outside. She would not survive out there with no supplies to help her weather the winter season. She could get lost, hurt, or worse. He needed to convince her to stay.

 _"You can't leave,"_ he told her firmly as he moved swiftly to block her path from the tunnel, spreading his wings slightly to his sides as if to prevent any escape.

When she looked up to frown at him, he tried to soften his words, not wanting to make her believe he was trying to keep her prisoner.

 _"It's dark outside now. The snowstorm has not abated and will probably continue for a long while,"_ he stated before he added in a more cajoling tone, _"Wait until the worse of the blizzard season passes before you head out."_

Katara shifted unsurely on her feet and bit her lip as she debated his words. She knew it would be foolish of her to set out in that storm, but she could not stop wondering and worrying about Sokka and her friends. But how would she find them? She did not know the area nor did she have a clue on how to track them down.

"I…" she began before she faltered, not knowing what to do as her logic warred with her wish to help her friends.

Sensing her unrest, Zuko's eyes softened a little.

 _"You won't be much help if something were to happen to you_ ," he added truthfully, but in a soft tone. When she frowned, he asked, _"Are your friends capable of fending for themselves for a while longer?"_

At his words, Katara relaxed a little. Sokka, Aang, and Toph were not helpless. Aang could use his airbending to shield them from the wind and Toph could erect a stone dome to keep them safe from the cold snow. And her brother, although not a bender, was a skilled warrior, hunter, and a resourceful person. Little by little, her anxiety lessened and her pounding heart slowed as hope grew in her chest. She had to believe that they were fine and that they would see each other soon.

"You're right," she reluctantly admitted as she returned to the fire and placed her pack down beside it. Without another word, she unfurled her bedroll and sat down on it with a sigh.

Zuko allowed his body to relax and he tucked his wings back to his sides as he stared silently at the quiet woman. He understood her concerns, but he was pleased that she had agreed with him and did not rush out in search of her companions with the snowstorm raging outside. It worried him that something could happen to her out there.

"It's just that I'm worried for them," he heard her mumble.

 _"I understand,"_ he responded, _"But I am sure they are fine and you will see them again."_

"I hope so," she replied with another small sigh as she brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs as she stared into the hypnotizing fire.

Zuko hesitated and shifted uncertainly. He knew it was perfectly logical that he should have convinced her to stay so she would not become lost in the snowstorm, but he knew there had been an ulterior motive. He had not wanted her to leave…him. It was selfish, he knew, but he could not help it. There was a part of him that had seemed to rage at the thought of her leaving his side. He shook his head. She could not be with her friends at the moment, but he would try to at least make her stay as nice as possible.

He wanted to enjoy her company as long as possible.

The dragon stared at the brunette woman for a moment before he decided to move closer to her and the fire instead of returning to his grassy bedding. Carefully, he arranged his large, serpentine body so that he curled almost at her back, not quite close enough to touch, but close enough so that she could feel his presence and heat. He looked down at her from her right side and he was pleased when she did not seem bothered by his closeness as she craned her neck up so she could see him.

 _"So what are your friends like?"_ he asked, not because he really cared, but because he wanted to cheer her up.

He inwardly smiled when she immediately perked at his question and a large smile appeared on her face. He listened amusedly as she enthusiastically began to describe her companions. She started by describing her earthbending friend, Toph, who was born blind, but did not let that impede her dreams of becoming a master earthbender. Toph was a brash, dryly sarcastic woman who loved a good spar and was painfully blunt, but was fiercely loyal and protective of her friends. Katara then described Aang, an Air Nomad, who was friends with a flying sky-bison and a flying lemur. The airbender was cheerful and kind, and had a love and respect for all living creatures. She had known Aang since they were preteens and Aang had developed a crush on her before she kindly turned him down. Despite that, it did not ruin their friendship. Plus, she suspected that Aang might have feelings for Toph now and that the earthbender might return his feelings, even if she acted otherwise.

It was the last person, however, that made Zuko inwardly frown and narrow his eyes. Katara elaborated more on this Sokka she had mentioned before and by the stories she recounted it seemed as if they knew each other since childhood and were really close. He felt an irritation form in his chest when he could detect the fondness despite the annoyance in her tone when she described the foolish antics this Sokka seemed to love. When she paused, Zuko could not help interject.

 _"This Sokka seems too full of himself,"_ he bit out and his nostrils flared, sending twin plumes of smoke into the air. Then in a strained tone, he added, _"How can you like a guy like that? You deserve better."_

At the dragon's words and strange tone, Katara frowned up at him.

"What are you talking about?"

 _"Your…boyfriend,"_ he almost growled out the word, barely stopping himself from spitting fire form his mouth only because the bizarre urge was confusing him.

"Boyfriend?"

Katara's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open as she stared incredulously at him for a moment. Then she threw her head back and laughed loudly, going so far as to clutch her stomach in her amusement. The red-scaled dragon stared at her in confusion before he let out a little growl as he watched her continuing to laugh.

 _"What is so amusing?"_ he asked in irritation. He ignored the way his chest tightened at the sound of her laughter and how her azure eyes brightened.

"Sokka is my older _brother_ ," she finally managed to explain after she regained her breath and wiped at her eyes with a few more chuckles. She shuddered. "Ew, gross."

Zuko's golden eyes widened at his misunderstanding before he frowned at himself for his reaction. He was too embarrassed at the thought that he could be jealous that he did not reply to her words. He watched as the waterbender let out a few more amused giggles before she grinned at him.

"Why, were you jealous?" she teased, not at all believing he was, but wanting to tease him all the same.

Zuko felt himself becoming uncomfortable at her words since they hit too close to home, which only irritated him. He, Zuko, did _not_ get jealous.

 _"I am not jealous,"_ he grumbled for good measure.

"Whatever you say," Katara teased with another low chuckle, which increased when he sniffed.

Katara was still amused at Zuko's assumption as she began to fix her bedroll to settle in for the night. She was grateful that Zuko had succeeded in dispelling her dark mood from before, even if it was unintentional. As she fished out her comb from the pack and sat back on her sleeping bag, she finally realized that Zuko had not moved away from her. Gathering her hair over her shoulder to begin brushing the long locks, the waterbender lifted her head to look at him to see that he was staring at her again. Before she could ask him why he kept doing that, she felt her necklace suddenly loosen around her throat and slip. With a small gasp, she tried to catch it, but she wasn't quick enough and instead ended up accidentally hitting it away with her flailing arm. She watched as the pendant sailed in the air before it landed safely on the dragon's large, outstretched talon. Katara let out a relieved breath and smiled gratefully at Zuko when he lifted his claw toward her.

"Thanks," she said as she reached forward and grabbed her necklace from within his palm.

She could not help staring at the dark, sharp claws and comparing her small hand with his huge talon. He could easily rip her to shreds, but all she could remember was the gentle manner in which he had carried her to the cave. She returned her attention to her necklace and let out a relieved breath to see it wasn't damaged.

Zuko watched as Katara lovingly caress the blue pendant with her thumb as she stared down at the necklace and he wondered at the soft yet sad smile on her face. He frowned as he recalled something about Water Tribe necklaces. Didn't tribesmen give the women they wish to marry a betrothal necklace? Why did Katara have one? He felt his chest tighten as another question appeared in his head. Did that mean that Katara _was_ engaged? His lips curled a little and his nostrils flared at the thought before he forced himself to calm down as he once again told himself he should not care.

 _"Is that a…betrothal necklace?"_ he asked slowly, not sure if he really wanted to hear her answer.

Oblivious to the thoughts running through the dragon's head, Katara continued to caress the smooth, blue stone as she nodded. She missed the way his fangs clenched at her nod.

 _"So…you are engaged?"_ he forced himself to ask.

"Hm? What?" Katara finally focused on his words as she looked up at the dragon before she smiled and shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm not engaged. I mean, it is a betrothal necklace, but it's not mine."

Zuko tried to ignore the way his heart seemed to ease and his stiff body relaxed at her words.

"This actually used to be my grandmother's," he heard Katara say and he watched her once again looking down at the necklace, "It was given to her by my grandfather when he asked her for her hand in marriage when they were young. Though, Gran-Gran told me she didn't make it easy on him and he had to ask several times before she agreed to marry him."

She laughed quietly and Zuko mentally smiled as he silently listened to her story.

"They had a daughter, Kya, who years later captured the heart of the Southern Water Tribe Ch—er, tribesman, Hakoda," Katara quickly managed to catch her slip and cleared her throat before she continued, "Before my mother moved to the Southern Water Tribe with her new husband, my grandmother gave my mother her necklace as a keepsake. Then when I was born my mother gave it to me as an heirloom to wear until I got my own."

Silently, the dragon watched as the woman once again caressed the trinket as sadness settled on her lovely features and her tone became quieter. He wondered what it could mean.

"I treasure it because it's the only thing I have left to remember my mother," she finished softly, melancholy and sadness tinting her tone.

 _"Remember?"_ Zuko asked as he continued to watch her expression.

Katara blinked at the sound of Zuko's voice in her head. She had almost forgotten he was there as she lost herself in memories. She looked up once again to see that he was staring at her. She bit her lip and her hands clenched around the necklace. She had never talked about her mother with anyone else that wasn't her father or her brother, but here she was recounting her memories with someone she barely knew. Yet, she could not help but feel like she could trust Zuko, somehow knowing he would not judge her.

Watching as she once again focused on the necklace in her hand, Zuko wondered if she was lost in her painful memories as she remained silent. It seemed they had both suffered a lot in their lives. After a long moment of silence with only the sound of the popping firewood, Katara let out a soft sigh.

"When I was eight years old, my mother…died," she rasped before she more bitterly added, "No, she didn't just die, she was _killed_."

The dragon's golden eyes widened at her words and it felt as if an iron band had tighten around his chest, not only because it saddened him to know she lost her mother in such a way, but because it brought back painful memories for him.

"Mom, Sokka, and I left the safety of the city to visit the penguins that live at the edge of the water," Katara continued, unable to stop herself from pouring everything out as her memories flashed before her eyes, "Mom wanted to wait until Dad came back from hunting with the other warriors, but Sokka and I were impatient and insisted on going penguin sledding. So she took us."

Zuko watched as she took a deep breath and her hands clenched.

"We were having so much fun, everything was perfect, but then a pair of pirates surprised us," she continued and her breathing accelerated as her memories rushed forward. "They wanted to capture Sokka and me to be sold as slaves, but they wanted my mother to sell her off as some rich man's…concubine," she hissed. "Mom told us to run, but we couldn't. We were scared and we didn't want to leave her behind. But then one of the men grabbed us and Mom angrily jumped onto his back, demanding he let us go.

"She began hitting him and he dropped us so he could grab her, but she had already pulled out her dagger and slashed his eye. He got angry and pulled out his sword and then…" she choked and tears trickled down her eyes, "he s-stabbed her in her chest."

Eyes wide, Zuko could only stare at her sadly as she pressed her hands to her eyes as if she could stop the flow of her tears. Gods, she had been so young and she had to witness her mother's murder. It was horrible. He wished he could do something to help her, to erase her pain, but he knew from experience it was impossible, because he could not forget his own.

"There was so much b-blood," she stammered through her tears, "I rushed toward her, wanting to help her with my waterbending, even though I was just learning how to use it, but the other man grabbed me before I could reach her. He had a harder time restraining Sokka since he was bigger, but we were kids and we weren't a match for him.

"They were just dragging us away, when Father appeared with the other warriors. They managed to rescue us and kill the pirates," she added as her tone became softer and laced with pain, "But it was too late for my mother, she had lost too much blood. She…died a minute later in my father's arms."

Silence permeated the air at her last sentence as she brought her knees to her chest and buried her face on them, wanting to hide her tears as the memory once again assaulted her. Even after all these years, she could not to forget that horrible day, the way the snow became stained with her mother's blood, the disturbing wet sound that rattled from her throat every time her mother tried to breathe, and finally the way the light fled from her eyes and her breath stopped as her body went limp in her father's arms. She would also never forget the anguished scream that escaped her father's throat as he rocked his wife's dead body in his arms.

After a long moment when it seemed her tears and quiet sobs had subsided, Katara finally lifted her face and wiped at her cheeks. Zuko had not said a word, but his mere presence, the warmth that he exuded, and his silent support seemed to soothe her troubled thoughts.

"My mother's death affected all of us badly, but my father changed greatly in his grief. He blamed himself for his wife's death, for not being there to protect his family," she found herself explaining, "He became extremely overprotective, especially of me." She let out a small sigh as she stared at the blazing fire.

"I understand why he is that way, why he keeps me so heavily guarded, why he thinks it's a good idea that I…" she trailed off and Zuko wondered what she was going to say before she shook her head. "But I couldn't allow him to control my life. I want to live my own life, do things I like, make my own decisions. To grow to my full potential." She paused once again to let out another sigh. "Mom would have understood…I miss her a lot."

She heard the dragon's wings rustle as he shifted, absentmindedly thinking that she was probably making him uncomfortable and he was finally moving away from her. She didn't blame him. She had just poured her sorrows out to him and cried in front of him. She grimaced, embarrassed for her lack of control over her emotions. She blinked when she suddenly felt Zuko use the curve of one of his sharp claws to gently brush a stray tear away. Eyes wide, she looked up at him to see him staring down her, shocked at his gentle comfort. She had honestly not thought of him as someone who would easily offer consolation. She was surprised to see the understanding and the same pain and sadness reflecting in his golden eyes. The sight both comforted and intrigued her.

 _"I know how you must be feeling,"_ she heard him speak softly in her head and she held her breath as she waited to hear what else he had to say. _"I have also lost my mother in such a tragic way."_

A soft gasp escaped her at his words. He lost his mother to a murderer as well? And now Zuko was cursed to live as a dragon? How much more had he suffered? They stared at each other for a moment before she glanced away so she could wipe at her wet cheeks with the edge of her sleeve.

"I…I never talk about my mother to other people," she confessed quietly.

Zuko felt pleased that she had done so with him, for it must mean that she was comfortable with him and she trusted him enough to reveal something so personal. He could only assume that he trusted her as well for revealing his own truth regarding his mother. The memory brought another painful pang to his chest. For that reason, he did not judge her for her sudden tears and only wanted to offer as much comfort as he could, even if it was something he was not used to doing.

They were silent once again and Zuko relaxed slightly when he realized the waterbender had calmed down, though he could still see the melancholy in her blue eyes. He watched as she opened her palm to gaze down at her necklace. Curious, he leaned down a little so he could get a better look at the carvings on the blue stone. His eyes narrowed a little as the design struck him as something he had seen before. Why did it look so familiar? His eyes widened when it suddenly hit him.

It couldn't be. Could it?

 _"I've seen this necklace before,"_ he finally spoke up as he continued to stare incredulously down at the delicate trinket.

Katara raised her head to see the dragon leaning closer over her shoulder and she frowned in confusion.

"What?"

Looking away from the object, Zuko once again stared into her azure eyes.

 _"It looks like the one Prince Pakku gave his betrothed, Lady Kanna, which they showed me when I visited the Northern Water Tribe,"_ he explained slowly.

He watched as Katara's eyes widened and she began to stutter.

 _"So if Pakku and Kanna are your grandparents,"_ he continued in the same slow tone as he watched her carefully, _"then that must mean you are a princess."_

Katara stared up at him wide-eyed and he returned her stare calmly, waiting for her to admit his suspicions. Finally, she let out a sigh and nodded.

"Yes. I'm Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," she said softly.

 _"Why didn't you tell me before?"_ Zuko asked with a frown.

"Did it really matter?" she retorted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Zuko's frown deepened and his jaw clenched. No, it did not matter, but it hurt a little that she did not completely trust him with the knowledge of who she really was, though he knew it was irrational since she really did not know him that well. Besides, he had kept his own identity a secret.

 _"Why are you here?"_ he decided to ask instead. _"Why is a Water Tribe princess wandering around this part of the Earth Kingdom?"_

Katara pressed her lips tightly together and frowned up at the questioning dragon, stubbornly refusing to reveal her secrets. But when Zuko continued to stare intensely at her, she gave a little sigh and relaxed. What would it hurt if she told him part of the truth? She had already revealed something as important as her mother to him.

"I ran away from home with my brother and my friends," she said.

 _"I gathered as much, but why?"_

"I couldn't stand having my life dictated for me," she tried to explain.

 _"What do you mean?"_

"I…I don't want to talk about it," she muttered as she averted her eyes and stared back into the fire.

Zuko frowned, curious, but decided not to pry her for answers. He could sense it was something sensitive and he did not want to upset her more after what she had recounted of her mother's death.

"Wait," Katara spoke up as she straightened herself and looked up to frown at him, "You know my grandparents? That must mean you're some kind of nobility…"

Zuko's reptilian, golden eyes widened at her observation. Before he could stall, Katara's gasp interrupted him as she stared at him in sudden understanding.

"Now I know why your name sounded so familiar!" she exclaimed, "You're Crown Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation!"

When he did not say anything, Katara let his silence confirm her thoughts.

"You must be," she added, "You even have a scar on your left eye like the prince did, which he got from his own father during an Agni Kai."

She frowned at her last words. When she had heard about that story during one of her lesson as a child, she had thought it was cruel and horrible that a father would harm his child in such a way. And because the boy had only wanted to defend the people of a village that refused to leave their homes because the Fire Lord wanted their land to build another summer house. She watched as Zuko closed his eyes and slowly nodded his head before he opened them again to look at her. The pain and sadness in his eyes struck her to her very core. It seemed they both suffered from painful memories, but his were much worse. She at least had her family to love her and he had no one. She could still talk to other humans and enter civilization, while he, trapped in the body of a dragon, could not.

"People think you disappeared because you didn't want the responsibility of being Fire Lord," she spoke up softly.

Zuko growled at the thought. He was an honorable man. He would never run away from his duties.

"You've been alive all this time," Katara added softly as she continued to look at him, "Everybody began to think you dead after fifty years passed since your disappearance."

 _"What?!"_ Zuko mentally exclaimed.

His eyes widened in disbelief, shocked at the amount of years that had actually passed since that awful day. _Fifty_ years?! He should have guessed when he found out Pakku was a grandfather now, but still, the thought was depressing and painful. When he had thought he was at least in his late thirties, in actually, he was at least seventy years old! The days had just started to blend together and he had stopped counting after he lost his uncle. But now he realized how many years he had lost, how many things he had missed.

"You had not realized it," Katara stated softly.

 _"No,"_ he replied grimly.

As silence once again settled over them, Katara could not help feeling even more saddened at Zuko's plight. He had been living alone for fifty years with no one to talk to, to share things with?

Licking her lips, she hesitantly asked, "Why did you disappear? Why are you a…dragon?"

She watched as Zuko closed his eyes and turned his head away without a response. She wondered if he was going to avoid answering her again. She felt a little sad because they had confided in each other so far. She was startled when Zuko looked back to stare intensely into her eyes a moment later.

 _"I was cursed…_ " he began before he added with an angry growl, _"by my own sister."_

* * *

 **A/N: And the plot thickens!**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	7. In Which the Maiden Hears a Tragic Tale

**Hello there. I'm am soooo sorry for the late update! I've been so busy, I don't have much time for fanfiction anymore. But I promise I won't stop writing.**

 **Oh, once again, I've taken some liberties with the AtLA characters. I hope you don't mind.**

 **Anyway, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Many thanks to PurseMonger for her awesome suggestions and help!**

AtLA is not mine.

* * *

Chapter Six

 ** _In Which the Maiden Hears a Tragic Tale_**

* * *

Katara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped a little at Zuko's revelation. His own sister cursed him? First, his father scarred him during that Agni Kai, and then his sister banished him from his home to live in the body of a fearsome dragon? How…awful. No wonder he was hesitant to talk about it.

Still in shock, she watched as Zuko rested his head on his talons and let out a little growl, thin plumes of smoke escaping between his fangs. Katara could sense it was a painful memory, so she slowly moved closer to him, sitting close to his head, level with his right eye. She did not fear him. She only wanted to comfort him, just as he had with her a moment ago. She wanted to reach forward to place a comforting hand on him, but she did not know if he would appreciate her touching him.

Zuko's eyes opened and he looked at Katara's proximity in surprise. He didn't think she would feel comfortable being so near his draconic body. He could feel her warmth and smell her sweet scent that seemed to exude her concern and sadness. Sadness for him? He normally would have been upset to have garnered someone's pity, but he found that he didn't mind. He actually _liked_ that she seemed to care for his plight, and didn't know how to feel about _that_.

"Please, Zuko," she said softly, "I want to help you, even if it's just listening to your story."

Zuko stared at her for a moment, observing the small frown of concern on her brow, the gentle sympathy in her large, blue eyes. He had not seen anyone look at him in such a manner in years—if ever—and he felt his cold heart melt a little. But could he tell her his story? Did he trust her enough to reveal so much about himself? He had learned from a young age to never let himself be vulnerable before anyone, to always keep his guard up, to never completely trust a person's intentions and words. He closed his eyes as he debated with himself.

But Katara had opened herself up a little to him, she trusted him enough to reveal something as important as her mother's death to him, and he knew with a certainty that she spoke the truth, that her pain was real. Could he not return the courtesy?

No, it was more than just that.

He could not explain why, but he just knew he could trust her, that she would not judge him. But most of all, he _wanted_ to tell her. For the first time, he wanted to open up to someone.

When Zuko closed his eyes and remained silent, Katara felt her heart sink a little, though she told herself to be reasonable and that he was not obligated to tell her everything about himself. She was just about to stand up to make her way back to her bedroll when Zuko opened his eyes again and stared at her with an intensity that made her catch her breath.

 _"It all started when my father died,"_ he began in a passive tone.

* * *

 **(52 years ago)**

A twenty-year-old Crown Prince Zuko looked passively at his reflection in the elegant full-length mirror as the servants moved around him, getting him ready for the coronation ceremony that was to commence in a few hours.

He was still shocked by the events of the past few weeks. He could not believe his father, Fire Lord Ozai, had died in his sleep. Ozai had always seemed like a healthy, strong man. He was one of the greatest firebenders of his generation, and he wasn't old enough to just die. Zuko sighed. Either way, the fact was his father was dead, and as the heir to the throne, Zuko had been told by the royal council that he needed to immediately take on responsibilities and become the new Fire Lord. The whole affair just seemed to rush by in a blur. He had not thought he would become Fire Lord so young or so soon, but he would do his duty to his nation and his people. He had been taught and raised to be the next Fire Lord since he had been a child, after all.

"Why, Nephew, you look so gallant," the sound of his beloved uncle brought him out of his thoughts.

Zuko glanced at the mirror to see Iroh beaming proudly at him, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He relaxed slightly and smiled at the old man. The servants bowed and left the room, having finished getting him dressed in the formal ceremonial robes.

"Thanks, Uncle."

Iroh should have been Fire Lord, not Ozai, but he had lost his ambition when he suffered a double blow, the loss of his wife and his son. Azulon had then appointed his second son as his heir, much to Ozai's satisfaction. As a boy, Zuko had looked up to his older cousin as his hero and he had been devastated at the news of Lu Ten's death. Their mutual grief brought Iroh and Zuko closer, so that they now shared a relationship of father and son, more than uncle and nephew, especially since Ozai didn't bother to interact with his own children. Iroh had guided him through the years, taught him to be an honorable man and a great firebending master. He would forever be grateful to have the old man in his life, and even though he never really talked about it, he knew Iroh understood.

A teasing grin appeared on the tea-loving man's lips.

"With how dashing you look, maybe you will catch the eye of your future Fire Lady today." He chuckled.

Zuko let out a small snort as he looked himself over in the mirror.

"You already know I'm engaged to Mai," he replied passively.

Iroh let out a loud humph.

"I still can't believe your father arranged a marriage with her as your future wife. It is plain for all to see you two are not compatible at all."

Zuko shrugged uncaringly as he smoothed down his robes, looking blankly at his reflection.

"She has the proper upbringing and her family is one of the wealthiest in the country," he responded.

Iroh frowned at his words. His nephew's tone made it seem as if he had been repeating the same words to himself over and over in an attempt to convince himself it was for the best.

"Yes, that's true, but…do you love her?" he asked softly.

A scoff escaped the young prince as he turned around to look at his uncle.

"Love has nothing to do with it. It's a political marriage," he stated.

Zuko frowned as he thought of Mai, his betrothed. They had known each other since they were children. She was one of his sister's best friends, but he had not really paid much attention to her growing up since his sole focus was on his studies and perfecting his firebending. He still remembered the day, half a year ago to be precise, when his father called him to the throne room where the advisors, Mai, and her family waited. He had been ignorant as to the meaning of the meeting until his father announced to the whole room that in a year's time his son would be marrying the wealthy nobleman's daughter. Zuko had been unable to stop himself from gaping at his father in shock and horror. It was not that he hated Mai, but he wasn't ready to get married and to a woman that he really did not know, although he knew that eventually it would happen; it was the custom for Fire Nation nobility. But he quickly composed himself and remained impassive as the advisors congratulated them.

He had tried to convince his father to rethink his decision many times after that, but Ozai had been adamant. It wasn't until his father called into question Zuko's honor that he reluctantly decided to uphold the arranged marriage. So he tried to get to know Mai better, but those interactions only reinforced the fact that they were not good for each other, despite her infatuation with him. He thought of how dull Mai was which made things worse given his own taciturn personality. They would spend most of their time together sitting silently and somewhat awkwardly. She had tried to entice him into her bed several times in the course of their betrothal, but he had always come up with an excuse as to why he couldn't. He just didn't feel any attraction to her and he didn't want to hurt her feelings if she were to find out. Plus, he had no wish to usher the wedding date closer if it were found out they were already being intimate. He did not know what he would do once they married in a couple of months and had their wedding night. However, once they got married, he would do his duty to sire an heir. While he was not physically attracted to her or had any romantic feelings for her, he could admit she was pretty and had a graceful air about her that was pleasant.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his uncle let out a sigh.

"I hope that one day you could meet a woman you could love and she love you in return, so you would know how wonderful it is," Iroh said wistfully before he added under his breath, "Hopefully before you're forced to marry Mai."

Another frown marred Zuko's brow, but he did not reply since he knew his uncle was thinking of his late wife. But what would it feel like to have a woman love him unconditionally? For him to love someone more than his own life? He could not fathom it. He had seen how unhappy married couples could be, even his own parents. Uncle Iroh and his late wife were the only exception, having had a true love match.

"Where is Mother?" he asked instead, wanting to change the topic.

Iroh frowned and reached up to stroke his beard.

"I haven't seen her since dinner last night," he mused pensively, "She must be getting things ready for your coronation."

The young firebender frowned and wondered if his mother was still sad because of her husband's sudden death. Although their marriage had not been easy, Ursa had still cared for her husband and Ozai had cared for her even if he rarely showed it.

"And Azula?"

The old man rolled his eyes. "She is still sulking over the fact that Ozai died before he could name her his true heir."

Zuko frowned darkly and clenched his hands. Azula and he had never had a good sibling relationship. She always sought to annoy and torment him as children, and as they grew older she made it her purpose to surpass him in everything in order to gain their father's preference, hoping to change his mind and give her the title of heir. It had only made Zuko strive harder to prove himself worthy of being heir, but despite all his efforts Ozai always loved Azula more because of her sadistic personality that was just like his.

He touched his scarred cheek and grimaced slightly at the painful memories. Ozai had burned him to teach him a "lesson" when he had only been ten-years-old and Azula had reveled in her brother's humiliation and suffering. Yet, Ozai had still not given the throne to his daughter and now that he was dead, Azula had lost her chance. He was once again brought out of his thoughts when he felt his uncle cheerfully clap his shoulder.

"I am very proud of you, Zuko," he said sincerely as he smiled at his tall nephew. "You will make a great Fire Lord."

"I will do my best," the younger man replied firmly.

Chuckling, Iroh again clapped him on the shoulder.

"I am going to wait with the others. Bumi is probably making some people uncomfortable with his jokes. Oh, and Chief Arnook finally arrived with his family and his son's betrothed."

Zuko grinned as he thought of the Northern Water Tribe's Crown Prince. Pakku and he had first met when they were children and the Water Tribe family had visited the Fire Nation Palace. They had not gotten along at first and would often get into small scuffles that Ursa or Pakku's mother would break up. But they had bonded when Azula and her posse, made up of Mai and Ty Lee, had been taunting a turtle-duckling and they had chased them away. Since then they became friends and sometimes even exchanged letters. Zuko had visited the North Pole last summer as a diplomat and his friend had proudly introduced his new betrothed, which was said to be one of the most beautiful maidens of her generation. The young woman had been polite and kind, and Zuko could see why she was considered one of the tribe's most beautiful women. It had amused him to see how his serious and gruff friend looked at her with lost, adoring eyes and even flushed when she smiled at him. Zuko had never felt that way when Mai, or any other woman for that matter, looked at him. He hoped to spend some time with Pakku and Kanna during the celebration.

"I will see you at the coronation," Iroh said, and with one last smile, he turned toward the door.

Zuko turned back to observed his reflection and frowned at the glaringly obvious scar on the left side of his face. Even after all these years, he hated looking at it since it reminded him of his naïve ideals and foolishness. He was not blind to the fact that it repulsed people, especially women, despite the fake flattery they threw at him so they could capture his interest. Even Mai tried not to look at it. That was one reason why he did not trust the women of the nobility and why he thought he would never find that true love his uncle was always talking about.

His lips curled into a sneer at his thoughts before he schooled his features and smoothed down his royal robes once again. It did not matter. He glanced at the window of his childhood room—which he would never use after he was proclaimed Fire Lord—and realized there was still a little over an hour left before the coronation. He decided to visit the royal garden for a moment in order to calm his sudden nerves.

A few minutes later found him glancing pensively down at the pond in the garden. He could hear the turtle-duck family swimming at the other end as he lost himself in memories. He and his mother had spent a lot of time near the pond when he had been younger, feeding the turtle-ducks and the koi fish, while he recited his lessons to her. Sometimes, she would tell him stories, which were usually myths and legends about great heroes, the kind of stories young boys liked to hear. Since he could not win his father's affections and had been envious at his father's preference for Azula, the young Zuko had valued the love and warmth his mother gave him.

As he grew older, his responsibilities grew, so he had less time to spend it with her, but even so, they were still close and they took the time to visit the garden together whenever possible. Ursa had tried to convince Azula to join them, but his sister had always sneered at the idea, saying it was a waste of time.

He once again wondered where his mother was. He thought she would have come to see him before the ceremony to wish him well and give him words of wisdom. He, too, had not seen her since yesterday. But she was probably getting things ready just as Iroh said.

A turtle-duckling swam close and caused ripples to distort Zuko's reflection. He glanced at the sky and realized it would soon be time for the coronation. At the sound of rushed footsteps, he straightened himself out and took a deep breath. His uncle must have sent a servant to look for him. Turning around, he was surprise to see his father's most trusted admiral hurrying toward him.

Zuko frowned. He had never liked the arrogant man, but he was curious when he noticed the look of sheer panic on Zhao's face. He felt his spine stiffen in sudden awareness.

"What is wrong?" he asked as soon as the older man was a few feet away from him.

"My lord," Zhao greeted with a quick bow, "I have bad news. It has just come to my attention that Fire Lady Ursa has been…kidnapped."

"What?!" Zuko exclaimed angrily.

"I just received this."

Zhao quickly produced a thin scroll from within his armor and handed it to Zuko. The young prince snatched it from his hand and unfurled it. His eyes widened when a lock of dark hair fell onto his palm. It was held together by a golden hairpiece in the shape of a dragon whose eyes were made up of red gems. He knew that hairpiece since he had seen it on his mother ever since he could remember—a wedding gift from Ozai.

Eyes wide and heart pounding in his chest, he frantically began to read the short missive. It simply stated that whoever had kidnapped his mother wanted a ransom before the end of the day or she would be killed. The drop off place was just outside the city. With an enraged growl, Zuko clenched the paper in his fist, barely keeping himself from setting it on fire, while he held on tightly to the hairpiece with the other.

"Gather some men. Quickly," he ordered harshly.

"I have sent a few men to scout ahead already, my lord," Zhao replied grimly. "And I already had a stable boy saddle your mount."

"Good," Zuko said as he marched back toward the building with the admiral following behind. "We must hurry."

Heart heavy with worry and mind racing with different, terrible scenarios, Zuko hurried toward his room to gather the ransom while Zhao waited for him outside. He did not care about money as long as he got his mother back safely. But hopefully, they could catch the person or persons responsible and throw them in prison for daring to lay a hand on her!

He took a second to look worriedly at the hairpiece before he placed it safely inside one of his drawers. Once he had secured the pouch and sheathed his broadswords at his hip, he hurried toward the stables with Zhao at his side. They passed a few servants who looked at their lord in confusion, but he ignored them as all his focus was on getting his mother back.

There weren't a lot of people around since they were waiting for the coronation ceremony to commence. Zuko hesitated a moment, wanting to at least warn Iroh about what was going on.

"I should send word to my uncle," he said as he made to turn around.

"I already had a soldier brief him about the situation," the admiral replied as he slowed down to wait for the younger man.

The prince frowned as he debated whether to ask Iroh to accompany them. Perhaps his uncle would be better at negotiating. With his temper, Zuko might end up making things worse which could lead to his mother getting hurt.

"My lord, we should hurry," Zhao reminded him urgently, "Who knows what they could do to the Fire Lady if we arrive late."

At his words, Zuko strode quickly toward the stables. The love and worry he had for his mother urged him on and it was all he could do not to rage at the gods for letting her be in harm's way.

Once there, Zuko made his way to the area where they kept the ostrich-horses to see that two had already been saddled. Hurriedly, he took off his royal robes so he was only in his under tunic and dark trousers. He threw the robes over the stall before mounting the ostrich-horse, whose speed was what was needed to get him to the rendezvous point quickly.

A few minutes later, they were riding out of the palace with the guards posted at the gates looking after him in confusion. However, no one dared to question or stop the future Fire Lord and the admiral. Zuko felt a twinge of guilt for missing the ceremony, in a way neglecting his duty to his nation, but he had to save his mother first. If he could not protect her, how could he protect the Fire Nation?

They rode in silence for a few minutes and Zuko's worry and anxiety rose. He hoped his mother had not been hurt.

"We are here, my lord," Zhao's voice brought Zuko out of his dark thoughts.

The young prince looked up to see they were riding toward a copse of trees.

"I will wait with the men over among the cover of the trees," the older man said gruffly as they came to a stop. "We will come to your help at your signal."

Zuko gave him a silent nod as he nudged his mount to move forward. They maneuvered around the trees until they came onto a large clearing. In the middle of the empty space sat a small run-down hut, its wood and straw roof caving in on one side. Zuko glanced around cautiously as he strained his senses to pick up any sounds or movements. But, there seemed to be nothing. He and the ostrich-horse seemed to be the only ones in the clearing, but he was sure whoever had kidnapped his mother was waiting inside the hut. And when he got his hands on whoever it was, they would be begging to the gods for help.

He rode forward, keeping his senses on high alert as his eyes scanned his surroundings. He hoped his men were ready to emerge at a moment's notice so they could apprehend the criminal and also have his back if things went wrong. Once they were near the hut, Zuko dismounted and walked warily toward the old, rotting door. He paused to see if he could hear anything inside, but he was only met with a heavy silence. Squaring his shoulders and preparing for an attack, he pushed the door open which made a loud, creaking sound. When no one sprang at him, Zuko stepped inside and looked around.

The sun was setting which made the room dark and difficult to see. His eyes darted everywhere as he searched for his mother and the culprit, but he could not spot anyone. He walked further into the room, only noticing an old, broken chair and a scarred table. He stiffened when he noticed movement from the corner farthest to him. Cautiously, he made his way over. As he neared the corner, he was finally able to make out a lump under a heavy blanket lying atop a thin pallet. The lump moved before it let out a quiet, pained groan.

"Mother!" he shouted in alarm as he rushed forward and knelt down next to her.

He quickly picked up the body wrapped in the thick blanket and he felt his heart ease a little. He found her! Just as he pulled back the blanket so he could see her face, his eyes widened in shock at what he saw. Instead of his mother's warm eyes, he was met with his sister's sinister smile.

"Azula? What?" he exclaimed in confusion as he let her go and stepped back.

He watched as she gracefully stood up, throwing the blanket away from her to reveal her armor-clad form. What in the world was she doing there?

"Hello, Zuzu," she replied mockingly. "Sorry if I disappointed you."

Before Zuko could reply, she struck her arm forward with a loud cry. Zuko barely had enough time to block his chest and face as Azula threw a blue fireball at him. The force of the attack sent him flying back to crash out the only window in the hut. Paper and wood shattered all around him, but he quickly gathered his senses and turned in mid-air to land on his feet. Growling angrily, he snapped his head up to glare at Azula, who was now looking at him through the broken window.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he growled furiously as he lit his palms up, red fire licking up his arms. "I don't have time for your antics! Where is Mother?"

"Tsk, tsk, Zuzu, you should be more worried about yourself," the dark-haired princess cooed mockingly as she slowly waved her pointer finger back and forth.

"What do you mean?" he asked with a dark frown as a sudden sensation of dread overcame him, causing his spine to stiffen.

He watched warily as his sister jumped easily through the window and landed agilely before him, her booted feet crushing the pieces of paper and wood littered on the ground. He tensed when she let out a loud laugh before she smiled at him. A smile he could only describe as evil. He had seen that kind of smile before when they were children. Usually when she was torturing a helpless animal or punishing a servant.

"I'm going to get rid of you once and for all," she finally replied, her laughter disappearing as she glared at him.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked as his eyes darted around himself.

Where were Zhao and the men? Why weren't they coming out to find out what was going on and why their princess was attacking their future Fire Lord?

"I got tired of waiting for Father to name me his heir," she growled angrily before she took a deep breath to compose herself. Looking casually at her long nails, she added nonchalantly, "That's why he needed to be rid of."

Zuko's eyes widened as he stared incredulously at her. She could not mean what he thought, could she? He knew she was a cruel person, but she was not a murderer. However, the satisfied expression on her face confirmed his suspicions. He sucked in his breath. How could she?

"You…killed Father," he stated.

He honestly had no love for the man, but Ozai had still been their father. Why would Azula kill him when Ozai showed her his affection and respect?

Azula shrugged one shoulder and waved a hand dismissively in the air.

"Technically, _I_ didn't kill him."

"How could you?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"The man didn't deserve a peaceful death after the things he did," she replied with another careless shrug. "Did you actually believe Lu Ten and our aunt died in an accident?"

Zuko frowned as he had a feeling where she was going with that thought.

"Father ordered their deaths so he could rise to the throne, knowing Iroh would be too devastated to want to rule the Fire Nation."

"What?!" he shouted. "You lie!"

The princess let out another mocking laugh.

"Don't be so naïve, Zuzu," she mocked, "This is how the world works. Only the strongest, smartest, and ruthless survive. And now I will get rid of you and I will become the true Fire Lord!"

"You're insane!" he growled as he moved into an offensive stance. "I will never give up the throne to you! You only want power and don't care about the well-being of our nation."

"I'm not insane!" she screamed wrathfully and blue fire erupted around her clenched hands before she took a deep breath to compose herself. Once she was calm once again, she threw a mocking smile at her older brother. "You're a fool with such stupid, idealistic thoughts. It's what's going to get you killed!"

With a loud shout, she thrust her arm forward, sending a large blast of blue fire at Zuko. He quickly threw his arms in front of him, snuffing out the fire, before he retaliated by punching two fire balls at her. Azula nimbly jumped sideways and the fireballs hit the building behind her with loud booming sounds. The small hut quickly caught on fire, sending sparks in every direction. Zuko looked away briefly as sparks flew everywhere, but when he looked back Azula had already leapt into the air, spun around, and was aiming a kick at his head. Zuko barely had time to block himself, the hard kick sent him flying back to land heavily on the ground.

He quickly recovered himself, and rolled to the side when Azula brought a flaming foot down where his chest had been. Growling, Zuko jumped to his feet and once again took an offensive position. He could not let her win.

Azula laughed cruelly at him as she prepared to attack again, but was forced to jump back when he snapped his fire whips at her. The bright, red tips tore holes in the ground where she had been standing seconds before and she growled out an angry curse. She had always been the better of the two when they had been younger, but Zuko improved greatly as he got older and was trained by Iroh, the Dragon of the West. He cracked his fire whip at her feet, but she quickly deflected it with a fire blast only to curse when she saw the second one aimed at her chest. She crossed her arms over herself, but the force of the blow had her skidding back, ripping the grassy ground beneath her feet.

"Where is Mother?" he demanded as he watched her casually brush down her clothes. "Or was the message just a ruse to lure me out here?"

He really hoped the lock of hair was not their mother's and that Azula had just stolen the hairpiece when Ursa had not been looking.

Another sinister smile appeared on his sister's face and it caused his skin to prickle in rising dread.

"How smart of you to figure part of it out, Zuzu," she complimented mockingly before she shrugged uncaringly as she waved her hand dismissively at him. "I had planned to use her as bait, but she refused to cooperate." She paused and a deep scowl marred her perfect features. "If she had just stayed quiet instead of lecturing me, I may not have snapped and accidentally killed her."

Zuko looked at her in horror, feeling his stomach drop and his chest constrict.

"You lie!" he shouted as the fire around his hands erupted higher.

 _Azula always lies!_ he cried out in his head. She had to be lying! Their mother couldn't be dead!

"See for yourself," she replied passively as she lifted a hand and snapped her fingers.

Zuko whipped around at the sound of footsteps to see a large man, a servant by the clothes he wore, emerge from the other side of the clearing. He was carrying something wrapped in a cloth over his shoulder, a blank expression on his face. The man stopped a few feet behind Azula, who was smirking knowingly at Zuko. She waved her hand at the servant.

"Go on. Show him," she said.

The large man looked up to give the prince a pitying look before he moved forward slowly. He stopped in front of Zuko and just as slowly lowered the wrapped bundle he was carrying. Zuko did not pay attention as the man rose and retreated to stand behind Azula as his sole focus was on the object resting at his feet. His body shook as he continued to look at it, part of him wanting to find out the truth, but a bigger part afraid of what he would find. He could feel Azula looking at him, but he ignored her. Finally, he slowly bent down and reached out to grab one edge of the cloth. He took several deep breaths as his heart pounded painfully in his chest before he slowly pulled it back.

His breath stopped as his eyes landed on the glazed, unseeing eyes of his mother, her skin paler than normal. He pulled the cloth completely away to see the cause of her death was a charred hole in her chest. A pained groan escaped him.

"No. No," he whispered desperately as he cupped her cold cheeks.

Tears pricked at his eyes, his body shaking in both anguish and fury. He picked her up and cradled her to his chest as emotions whirled inside him. No, he could not lose one of the two people who actually loved him and he loved in return.

"No!" he cried before he looked up to glare wrathfully at his cruel sister. "How could you?! She was our mother!" he roared furiously.

"She's not my mother!" Azula shouted just as angrily. "She _never_ loved me! She only loved _you_!"

Zuko carefully laid his mother's body back on the ground, covering her with the cloth, before he slowly stood up. He lifted his head to glare hatefully at Azula, his hands balling into fiery fists at his sides.

"You will pay for what you have done," he said, his tone low and dark.

He sprang forward, a fist pulled back, ready to strike the smirk off Azula's face, but she easily blocked his attack and countered. The large servant picked up Ursa's corpse and quickly retreated away from the fight, but they did not notice him in their quest to harm each other. Zuko was about to deliver a devastating blow when Azula left an opening, an unusual mistake for her, but an unexpected blast hit him from the side. He fell to the ground with a pained groan, his side aching, but he quickly jumped to his feet. He was lucky the blast had not burned through his tunic.

His eyes narrowed when he saw that standing next to Azula was Zhao. Resuming his fighting stance, Zuko glared at them.

"What is the meaning of this, Zhao?" he growled angrily.

"Isn't it obvious, Zuzu?" Azula spoke up mockingly. "Zhao helped me lure you here. We're working together."

"You traitor!" the prince roared.

Zhao smirked arrogantly.

"Not if it's the true Fire Lord I am helping," he replied with a chuckle before he added, "Oh, and I was the one who killed Ozai. He didn't notice me slip poison into his drink."

Zuko let out an angry scream as he prepared himself to attack, but he paused when men raced forward from the trees and surrounded him. He stared at them through narrowed eyes, angry at their disloyalty, as he once again readied his stance.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for such treachery," he growled.

A few men shifted uncertainly, but none dropped their aggressive postures or moved to join him against Azula and the others.

"What are you waiting for?" Azula called out, "Restrain him."

A couple of the soldiers rushed toward him with loud battle cries, fire balls shooting from their hands. Zuko easily evaded their attacks and fought off the men who were brave enough to come near him, but there were too many and he was soon restrained by two men holding his arms behind his back. He cursed mentally as he thrashed in their unrelenting hold. What a fool he had been! He should have realized something was wrong. He had never liked Zhao and should've listened to his instincts. But he had let his concern cloud his senses and now he would have to deal with the consequences for that mistake.

"Did you bring him?" Azula asked as she smirked at Zuko.

"Of course," Zhao responded as he motioned for his men.

A moment later, the men stepped aside and Zuko watched as two soldiers brought forth a short, old man. His thin long beard quivered as he looked around fearfully. Zuko's attention shifted to Azula when she spoke again.

"I had planned on just killing you at first, but then I decided it would be more satisfying to keep you alive," she revealed as she glanced at the old man briefly before smirking at Zuko, "Alive, but suffering, unable to do anything about your pathetic situation."

Before Zuko could wonder what she meant, he watched as Azula snapped her fingers at the old man who flinched at the sound.

"Do it now," she ordered.

The old man straightened himself out, his fear seeming to leave him for a moment, as he gave the princess a dark glare.

"I won't until you return my grandson to me," he replied in a raspy voice.

Azula smirked at him and lit a hand on fire, taking a menacing step toward him, but Zhao blocked her path. She looked up to glare incredulously at him.

"If we do anything to him, we will not be able to find another mage to carry out your plan," he advised.

"Fine," she groused before she barked at another soldier, "Bring the brat."

As they waited for the guard to return, Azula turned back to glare at the old man.

"If you try anything but what you've been brought here to do, I will have your grandson's head ripped from his body," she threatened.

The old man swallowed, but gave a small nod.

Zuko tried to break the men's hold, but they were unyielding. He winced when they twisted his arms higher, almost fearing they would dislocate a shoulder. He lit his hands up, hoping to at least have them back away in fear of being burned, but the men were heavily armored and didn't even flinch.

A moment later, the soldier returned with a small boy slung over his shoulder. His hair and clothes were dirty and his hands and legs had been bound with rope. The soldier placed the boy roughly on his feet and put a strong grip on his shoulder while he held a knife against his neck. The boy, probably no older than ten, had tears running down his cheeks as his eyes darted everywhere. His eyes widened when they landed on the old man.

"Grandfather!" he cried as he tried to move forward, but the soldier held him in place. The boy recoiled when the knife pressed closer against his skin.

"Yong!" the old man cried out.

Not wanting to wait and see what would happen, Zuko once again tried to fight back by using all his strength to push back against the men, but they restrained him easily with their added weight and strength. Livid at the entire situation and his mother's unfair death, Zuko pulled his head back and managed to smack one on his face, causing the man to stumble back with a pained cry. Zuko then twisted out of the other's hold and spun around with an outstretched leg, tripping the man onto the other. He raced toward the trees, but he was immediately blocked by the other soldiers. Undeterred, he fought them, trying to reach his ostrich-horse so he could escape.

"Do it now!" Azula screamed again.

"I've already said that my old age has weakened my power. It may not work," the old man began as he stared worriedly at his grandson.

"It better work or your grandson dies. Now do it, old man!"

Zuko could barely hear the man as he begun to chant something in a language he had never heard before as he tried to fight of the other men that had sprang at him. If he could not escape, he would rather die a warrior's death. Just as he sent three men flying back with a large fire blast, he heard the man's voice raise in volume and speed.

Zuko cried out when an excruciating pain, the likes of which he had never experienced before, assaulted his entire body. The men stepped back as he collapsed onto the ground with a scream of pure agony. He felt as if his skin was ripping and his bones were breaking as they began to stretch beyond their capacity. His gums and fingers ached painfully as if new teeth and nails were emerging.

 _What is going on?!_ he screamed mentally as he felt as if something was sprouting from his tailbone and his back, ripping his skin as waves of anguish crashed through him. His clothes began falling around him as his fingers dug into the dirt. He let out another scream, but to his tortured mind it sounded like an animalistic roar.

"What are you changing him into?!" Azula screamed.

Eyes suddenly hazy from the agony and panting roughly from the pain, Zuko looked toward the old man to see him looking apologetically at him.

"I am sorry," he heard the man whisper.

The old man was blocked from his view as the soldiers began to surround him, feeling them wrap ropes around him while Azula and Zhao shouted orders. Then he saw the boy run to his grandfather while the men were distracted. The last thing he saw was the pair turn to look at him briefly before they escaped into the forest. Then Zuko's eyes rolled back and darkness swallowed him, taking the pain away.

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes, feeling disoriented. He closed them and grimaced when his senses were bombarded with an overwhelming stench. It was silent, but he could hear the steady drip of water somewhere. He opened his eyes again and blinked several times to focus his vision. He frowned in confusion. There wasn't any light, yet he could see perfectly well. His eyes darted around and he noticed he was in large rocky cavern, devoid of anything. He looked forward and realized he was facing one very large, steel door. He dazedly wondered where he was when he suddenly remembered his fight with Azula.

 _Those traitors!_

He tried to stand up, but he was immediately stopped by multiple metal chains holding him down. Confused, he glanced down as far as he could with a chain restraining his neck. To his shock, he was met with large clawed hands covered in red scales.

 _"What? What's going on?!"_ he tried to shout, but found that he did not actually say the words, he just uttered incoherent growls.

His heart began to pound and his breathing accelerated in mounting panic. He looked at his surroundings again and noticed a full-length mirror standing a few feet away on his left side. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw himself not staring at his normal human body, but a draconic one. He was covered in red scales, horns protruded from his forehead, and large wings rested against his sides, held down by the chains.

 _"No!"_ he screamed, _"What is this?!"_

Horrified and confused, he began to thrash around, but the chains were too strong and tight. More growls escaped his mouth instead of words. What had happened to him? This could not be happening! He must be having a nightmare!

Yes, that must be it. It was just a dream. Everything was just a nightmare. He would wake up to realize it was the day of his coronation. His mother would be alive and waiting to see her son be crowned Fire Lord. Uncle Iroh would beam proudly at him and give him some sage advice. He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up.

However, what seemed like hours passed and he had not woken up. He was still in the cavern and he was still seeing a dragon in the mirror's reflection. His panic resurfaced as he finally admitted the truth; he was a dragon. Chained to the ground like an animal. And his mother was dead. Killed by her own daughter.

Why? Why was this happening?

It felt like days had passed as despair gripped him before he heard the rusty steel door creak open. He slowly glanced toward it in anticipation, only to growl angrily when Azula and Zhao stepped into the room. He launched at them with an outraged shout, but his curses came out as animalistic roars and growls. They laughed, which caused his rage to mount higher.

"So good to see you, Zuzu," Azula greeted sarcastically, laughing when he growled at her. "I like seeing you chained and suffering far better than just killing you," she cooed mockingly. She frowned. "Although, I expected you to be cursed into something more pathetic like a cow-pig or an ugly, warty toad-frog."

She turned to Zhao who was observing Zuko in interest.

"Where did that mage flee to?" she asked angrily. "He'll pay for defying me."

Zhao shrugged as he brushed his knuckles against his sideburns. "We haven't had any luck finding him or his grandson."

"I'll burn him to a crisp if I ever get my hands on him," she growled before she composed herself. She turned to smirk at her cursed brother. "It doesn't matter, a dragon is an animal nonetheless."

Zuko snarled at her and she chuckled at his helplessness.

"I originally planned on having you survive in the wilderness as a little animal, but I can make you suffer in other ways," she added as she glanced down at her nails. "I'll keep you locked up down here as my special prisoner. No one else knows of this place, but a select few. And here you will remain for the rest of your life…however long that is for a dragon."

She let out another loud cackle when Zuko tried to lunge himself at her again, but was painfully pulled back by the chains.

"Don't worry, Zhao and I are getting married and we'll take good care of the Fire Nation," she cooed evilly.

Zuko stared at them incredulously and they laughed. He growled. They would ruin the Fire Nation! Furious, he opened his mouth, and with a deafening roar, he shot a column of fire at them. Azula and Zhao cursed as they barely had enough time to jump away from the powerful blast. Zuko was surprised and pleased at his new power and he knew the pair had realized it by the sudden uneasy looks they gave him. Just as Zuko was about to attack again, a few soldiers rushed in. They paused only a moment to stare at him in awe before they began to attack him.

Zuko became alarmed at the multiple fire attacks. He closed his eyes and ducked his head, preparing himself for the pain, but he felt nothing as the fire touched him. He looked back up with a wicked, fanged smile. The soldiers gaped at him and quickly ran away while Zuko spat fire at them. Azula screamed in outrage, demanding the men to return, before she allowed Zhao to lead her back outside. But not before she threw another smirk at Zuko.

"You will never escape!" she cackled as the steel door was shut with a loud bang.

That was the last thing he heard in a long while.

* * *

He did not know how long he had been imprisoned down there. There were no windows to tell the coming and going of days. He could not even feel the energy of the sun, which meant he was deep underground. It also explained the slight chill in the air, which admittedly did not bother him since his new body seemed to produce a lot of heat.

He was in pain from being restrained in the same position for so long, and he was suffering from hunger and thirst. He had seen no one since Azula and Zhao went to taunt him. Once a week, a smoke bomb would be thrown in from a slit through the door, which would knock him out. He would wake up disorientated to see pieces of raw, sometimes rotten, meat thrown near him as well as a bucket of dirty water.

At first, he had been disgusted and refused to eat the raw meat, but eventually his hunger gave him no choice. He had been afraid it would make him sick, but it seemed his dragon body was built for it because he was fine. It was only the thought of eating raw meat that bothered him.

What was worse was the fact that he could not escape the mirror that taunted him with the atrocious image of what he was now. Every time he saw his reflection, he felt abhorrence and horror at his new body. It was so unnatural. It was _not_ him.

He had destroyed a few mirrors with fire blasts, but they were always replaced with new ones while he was passed out from the smoke. He knew it was Azula's doing, wanting to remind him of the monster he had become. As time agonizingly passed, he was beginning to feel as if he were losing his mind. It was torture being held against his will in the same place, within the same walls, and without seeing any other living creature, with the silence and darkness his only companions. It only made things worse when all he could think about was the memory of holding his mother's dead body.

He still could not believe she was gone. She had been so kind, warm, and understanding. So full of life. And Azula killed her.

And he had not been able to prevent it.

He could not help but wonder if death would bring him peace.

* * *

Zuko's eyes snapped opened when he caught the sound of the steel door to his prison being cautiously opened. He tensed and prepared himself to attack, but no smoke bomb was thrown in. He watched warily as a cloaked figure stepped in and paused uneasily before pulling back the hood. Zuko's eyes widened and he cried out in relief when the round face of his uncle was revealed. He made to move, but was forced to settled back down by the heavy chains.

The old man approached cautiously, walking slowly forward, trying to keep his body language as unthreatening as possible. Zuko knew because he had seen his uncle do the same to a spooked komodo-rhino or ostrich-horse.

"Zuko?" Iroh asked uncertainly as he looked into his eyes.

Zuko gave a low growl and a quiet whine as he lowered his head back on the ground with shame. He glanced up to see Iroh gazing intently into his eyes before he noticed the scar of the left side of his face. The old man gave a small gasp before he rushed forward, unshed tears making his golden eyes glisten. He stopped right next to Zuko's head as his hand hovered over his scaly skin before he gently rested it on his head.

"I finally found you," he whispered hoarsely. "I knew you hadn't abandoned your duties on purpose."

Zuko gave another low whine and nudged his uncle's hand, hating that he could not speak to convey his thoughts.

"We need to hurry and leave before the guards wake up. I knocked them out," Iroh spoke up urgently as his eyes darted to the door.

Zuko looked at him in surprise, but Iroh just smiled as he produced a heavy keychain from within his large sleeve. Zuko waited patiently as Iroh went about unlocking the chains holding him down. A moment later, he felt the chain slacken before they clattered to the ground. He slowly stood up only to fall back down with a pained groan. His muscles had cramped up and stiffened from lack of movement and he was weak from starvation. He could feel his uncle looking at him worriedly, which made him persevere. After several tries, he was finally able to succeed in standing up. His legs shook with his efforts, but he ignored the pain and discomfort. They needed to make a quick escape before the guards showed up. Not only for his sake, but Iroh's as well. Who knew what they would do to him for daring to help him escape?

"Would you be able to walk?" Iroh asked in concern.

Zuko gave a nod as his answer, unable to form words.

"This way then," the old man urged as he walked toward the opened door. "I'd say we only have about half an hour before they come looking. We must hurry."

Iroh moved forward and Zuko followed him. He was slow, however, since he had never walked in his new form before. It felt odd having to coordinate all four feet forward, but he did not let that stop him. Iroh led him down through several dark tunnels that were barely large enough for Zuko's draconic body to fit through. It made him wonder how they were able to bring him down there, although he was sure they probably dragged him all the way to his prison.

They walked quickly, but carefully, trying not to cause too much noise, always on alert of being persecuted. Several minutes later, Zuko's nose detected the smell of salt water.

"We are almost there," Iroh whispered as he hurried forward, his dark cloak billowing behind him as a sudden breeze swept through the dark tunnel, flickering the flame he held on his palm to light his way.

A moment later, an opening appeared and Zuko could make out the dark sky, smell the fresh air. They stepped through it and Zuko paused at the edge of the cliff. The sea was several feet below them, waves crashing loudly against the cliff's rocky side. He took a deep whiff of the salty air, enjoying the sensation of the cool wind that ruffled his dark hair.

Freedom.

"We are on the western side of the Fire Nation," he heard Iroh explained in a quiet tone that would have been swallowed by the howling wind if it weren't for his heightened hearing. "That is why it took me a while to find you."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. He had been imprisoned far away from the capital, from his home. He let out an inaudible growl. He would make Azula, Zhao, and those that helped them pay for daring to not only imprison him, but trapped him in a body that was not his own. But most of all, he would make Azula suffer for what she had done to their mother. What she had done to him.

"Come, we have to keep going."

The cursed prince followed his uncle on the small path, keeping his senses attuned to any sounds coming from the cliff side. It felt strange walking on all fours while his senses were attacked by different scents and sounds. It only reinforced the fact that he was no longer human. They walked for what seemed like hours until his uncle led him to a small mountain hidden by many, tall trees. It seemed his uncle had scouted the area before going to rescue him because the old man led him straight to a small opening hidden behind a thick curtain of flora. It led to a small cave that was barely big enough for him to curl into while Iroh sat himself beside him.

"We'll lay low for a few days," Iroh explained as he pulled a pack Zuko had not noticed before from within his cloak and rummaged inside for a water pouch, which he drank deeply from.

He offered it to Zuko, but he shook his head, knowing the old man needed it more at the moment as perspiration coated his skin.

"There is a small stream near here filled with fish. That will tie us over for a few days before we head out again."

Zuko cocked his head to the side and growled a little, angry that he could not voice his questions. How had Iroh known where to find him? And how had he known it was him in a dragon's body? It seemed he did not need to say the words out loud.

"You must have many questions, Nephew," Iroh said.

Zuko nodded. The old man sighed.

"The day of the coronation, Azula proclaimed that you had run away because you did not want to take up your duties as Fire Lord. It had caused uproar within the Court. Some wanted to go look for you, others condemned you," the old prince continued with another sigh. "But I knew Azula was lying. I know you would never run away from your responsibilities.

"So I kept an eye on Azula after that and had my friends in the White Lotus search for you. She forced the council to name her Fire Lord. Now she's married Zhao! He's old enough to be her father!" Iroh exclaimed with a shake of his head. "A few months after your disappearance, I received an anonymous letter stating what had happened to you and where you were being kept.

"I couldn't believe it at first, the thought of you being turned into a dragon seemed unbelievable, but I have seen many strange things during my life, so I knew I couldn't dismiss the possibility. So I cautiously went in search of you and, well, here we are."

Iroh fell silent as he stared at Zuko in both relief and worry. Zuko stared back, unable to express his gratitude, his anger, or concern for his predicament. He laid his head down on his talons and let out a small growl. He felt his uncle lay a hand on his massive talon and pat it in an effort to show comfort.

"Don't worry. We will find the mage and he will undo the spell. Then you will be human again."

Zuko glanced at him with one large eye before he looked away. He hoped his uncle was right. He did not think he could stand living in that form for much longer. He wanted to return to normal and he wanted to enact his revenge.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

* * *

 **(52 years later)**

Katara sat with bated breath as Zuko recounted his story, her chest felt heavy with anger, sadness, and concern for what he went through. He fell silent and she watched as he once again laid his head down on his talon and closed his eyes. She could feel his despair.

"You didn't find him," she finally spoke up, her tone soft and sad.

He opened his eyes and glanced at her. He had not spoken so much in his entire life. He was mentally exhausted from remembering those horrible months and years. But he found that he could not stop talking. He wanted Katara to understand him, to know him.

 _"Actually, we found him and his grandson months later,"_ he replied. _"The mage felt guilt and remorse for his part, but they had threatened his only grandson and living relative, so he had no choice. Which I understand. But even if he wanted to, he could not undo the curse."_

"Why not?!" Katara exclaimed indignantly.

 _"He said such curses could never be reversed by the one who casted it."_

Katara was saddened at the thought that he would remain in such a way forever.

Zuko stared at her dejected form for a moment, unable to help feeling warm at the fact that she seemed to care that much for his plight.

 _"The curse can be broken,"_ he spoke up slowly.

The waterbender immediately perked up and gazed at him expectantly.

 _"It's impossible for that to happen though,"_ Zuko added gruffly.

"Why?" Katara asked with a small frown.

Zuko said nothing for a moment.

 _"I can't talk about it,"_ he began before he quickly added when she started to speak, _"It is part of the curse, which is another obstacle. Azula wanted to make sure the curse did not break."_

Katara frowned, wondering if there was something she could do to help him break his curse.

They were silent for a moment, each lost in their thoughts.

"How did you end up here?" she asked curiously.

 _"Uncle and I were chased many times after my escape. Azula put a reward out for him, dead or alive, and brought me to her. But three years later, we were ambushed and in the skirmish my uncle was…killed."_ He closed his eyes and growled sadly.

A small gasp escaped Katara at his words. First he lost his mother and then his uncle in such horrible ways. Life had been so cruel to him. She narrowed her eyes. It was all Azula's fault. Not only did she hurt her brother, but she wanted to bring harm to the entire world. She needed to be stopped. She was brought out of her thoughts when Zuko spoke again.

 _"In my rage, I attacked and killed those responsible, but it did not bring him back and I did not know what to do. I was lost,"_ he murmured. _"I was constantly being hunted. Azula was willing to pay heavily for my capture. Of course, there were others who thought I was just another dragon and wanted my body parts to sell in the markets._

 _"It wasn't until I came quite close to being killed one day that I finally decided to leave the Fire Nation. Those I cared about had been lost to me just as I had lost my home. I wandered the world for a while, trying to find a safe area until I found this place. It is safe, but…lonely."_

Katara felt her heart clench in sadness. She wished there was something she could do.

 _"How is the Fire Nation doing?"_ he asked and she was a bit disconcerted at the change of topic.

"Azula's reign has not been easy," she said. "Years after she was crowned Fire Lord, a civil war broke out. Many were opposed to having her on the throne and rebelled after they saw how sadistic, greedy, and cruel she was. The civil war lasted for several years until Azula finally had the military crush her opponents. I read that a lot of people died and she killed any who spoke out against her.

"But then another war sprang up between her and Zhao, her prince consort, when he tried to assassinate her so he could become the new Fire Lord. That lasted another ten years before Azula finally managed to kill him off."

Zuko let out a derisive snort. Served the traitor right.

"All that internal fighting had cost the Fire Nation citizens a lot, especially since Azula taxed them heavily in order to fund the military and her extravagant expenses."

Zuko growled angrily, sparks flaring from his nostrils and smoke seeping from his mouth.

 _"I knew she was going to ruin the Fire Nation."_

A long moment of silence passed as Zuko brooded angrily and Katara waited for him to process the information. A few minutes later, the waterbender cleared her throat and shifted restlessly.

"There are rumors Azula is getting ready to start another war…against all the other countries…"

 _"What?!"_ Zuko exclaimed as he rose a little from the ground in his agitation, his large wings rustling loudly against his scales.

"Azula wants to conquer the world. There are rumors that say she plans to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground and make the Water Tribespeople and Air Nomads her slaves."

The cursed prince growled out his anger, the sound echoing loudly in the cavern.

 _"This is all my fault."_

Katara frowned at his words.

"How so?" she asked.

 _"If I had not been such a trusting fool, I would not have been so easily captured and cursed,"_ he growled before he paused. He lay back down, placing his head on his clawed-hands and closing his eyes. _"I would have been Fire Lord and could have prevented all this bloodshed and suffering."_

He felt Katara place her small hand on his cheek, the scarred one, and he froze. Nobody had touched his scar before. Slowly, he opened his eyes to look at her. She was sitting close to him, a frown on her face, as she stared resolutely back into his reptilian eye.

"It is _not_ your fault, Zuko," she told him firmly. "How were you supposed to know your own sister was going to betray you? Besides, you had only been trying to rescue your mother."

 _"I wasn't even able to save her,"_ he replied in pained tone.

Katara's ocean-blue eyes softened and her hand moved in comforting strokes against his scarred cheek, right under his eye that wasn't capable of moving away from her face.

"That wasn't your fault either," she said softly, but steadfastly. "Just like it wasn't my fault I could not save my mother."

Zuko could not stop gazing at her as he eagerly soaked up her words, wanting to believe them.

Katara's eyes narrowed.

"Azula is to be blamed for everything. _She's_ the monster. Not you."

Zuko's eyes closed as he listened to her words, feeling as if his tortured soul was unburdened a little. He enjoyed her small touch on him, her comforting warmth and scent. Katara was indeed unique since she didn't show any sort of disgust in touching his scaly body.

He wished she could be touching his skin instead. He quickly shook away such thoughts and focused on what Katara had revealed about Azula. If only there was a way he could save his country and the world.

But how would he do that in the form of a dragon?

* * *

"I have to look for Katara!" a male voice exclaimed loudly.

"Not like that you aren't!" a feminine voice growled out.

Toph and Aang once again shoved Sokka back onto the thin bed. Sokka tried to fight them off, throwing curses at them both, which they ignored. But his weakened body wasn't of much help to him and they easily managed to restrain him.

"Shh, Sokka. Here, drink this," Suki softly ordered him as she moved forward.

She carefully picked up his head and helped him drink from the cup she held. So far only Suki had been able to calm the blue-eyed warrior down. Once finished, Sokka smiled up dazedly at the Kyoshi warrior who returned his smile as she caressed his sweaty hair back from his face.

Aang frowned at his sick friend as Toph made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat at the other pair's actions, but nobody seemed to hear her. The airbender took in the sight of his friend's pallid skin, sweaty body, flushed face, and glazed eyes. Even though Sokka looked terrible, Aang was glad the warrior had finally woken up.

When the sudden blizzard had caught them off guard, they had gotten lost in the snowy wind and unknowingly ran in different directions, quickly becoming separated. Eventually, however, he and Toph had caught up to Sokka a few weeks later and they began to search for Katara. But to their dismay, they did not have any luck as weeks passed. Then they had the misfortune of running into a wild animal, which had taken them by surprise while they rested. It had injured Sokka and broken his leg, before the warrior had killed it. Sokka and Toph ate the meat, while Aang declined.

Unfortunately, the wound became infected. Sokka became gravely sick and lost consciousness. Aang and Toph began to despair for his life when they were luckily found by Suki and a few of her warriors. They had been making their way to visit relatives around the area and led them to a small village hidden between some mountains.

A village healer had looked after the sick warrior, which paid off since Sokka was now awake, but his fever had not completely disappeared. He was desperate to find his sister and afraid at the thought that something terrible had befallen her.

Aang sent a silent prayer to the gods that Katara had found shelter somewhere and that she was safe. Hopefully, they would be reunited soon.

* * *

 **A/N: And the plot moves forward!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **I'll try to update sooner and put up the next chapter of MHBFY as soon as I can.**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	8. In Which the Dragon Realizes Some Truths

**Hello dear readers! I'm so sorry for the late update. My mother's health issues and other things made it a little difficult to focus on writing. But things seem to be getting better, so I was able to finish the chapter. I hope you like it!**

 **Many thanks to PurseMonger for her awesome help as always!**

AtLA does not belong to me, sadly.

* * *

Chapter Seven

 ** _In Which the Dragon Realizes Some Truths_**

* * *

A little over a month had passed since he had discovered Katara at the base of his mountain and a week since he had revealed his secret. Zuko felt better now that he had finally talked about his burden to Katara, especially because she seemed so sympathetic to his predicament. He had never had anyone care about him except for his mother and uncle. And he never cared about anyone but them. Now it seemed he cared about Katara as well. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that. After all, she would be leaving.

He shook his head, telling himself not to dwell on it. He let out a low growl when he remembered what Katara had told him that night. He was still shocked and angry at what Azula had subjected the Fire Nation to for so many years. He was even more appalled that she planned to declare war against the rest of the world. Was she insane? Yes, the Fire Nation was a powerful country thanks to its advanced technology and its powerful military. But it was impossible to win a war against three other nations. What was her strategy?

He frowned as he tried to figure out what her plan to accomplish such a feat could be. More magic? Had she found another mage? Could magic even accomplish such a victory? Or was it something else? Katara had mentioned that there were rumors Azula planned on burning the Earth Kingdom to the ground. How? As he thought it over, something nagged at the back of his mind. What could be so powerful as to destroy such a large continent?

He mentally calculated the time that had passed to see what year they were on now, trying to see if there was anything specific. His eyes widened. It couldn't be, could it?

Sozin's Comet.

If his calculations were correct, the comet would be arriving in the summer. The last time it had passed was centuries ago. It was said the energy from the burning comet would make all firebenders' bending ability more powerful. Was that Azula's plan? To use the charged firebending to conquer the world?

If only he could stop her, but he would be immediately killed upon arriving in the Fire Nation in his dragon form. Plus, what could he do in his current form? He growled angrily, once again cursing his fate and that horrible day that changed his life forever.

The sound of Katara's soft humming dispersed his dark thoughts and his eyes once again became riveted on her lovely form. The snowstorm had lessened a bit and they had taken advantage of the relatively mild weather to venture outside. He mentally chuckled when he remembered Katara's exuberance at leaving the dark cave and how deeply she breathed in the fresh air. She had enjoyed the moment before she began to search the area for any possible herbs that had survived the winter.

He, at first, had been hesitant with Katara venturing outside since she could get sick and he wouldn't be able to help her. He smirked when he recalled her huffing at him that she was no delicate flower and that she felt cooped up in the cave and needed some air and sunlight (as limited as it was with the clouds hiding it). He had mentally chuckled, easily relenting when she gave him a pleading look with her large, blue eyes. He had carried her down the mountain in his clawed hand soon after that.

He had to admit that there was a part of him that had been afraid she would leave as soon as she had a chance. But, she had surprised him when she remained at his side. After spending more time with her, he learned many things about her, such as how she would prank her older brother when they were children, and how much she used to love penguin sledding before her father made her stop so she could focus on her studies and lessons as a princess. He had finally learned that she was making her way to the Northern Water Tribe to visit her grandparents, with the hope to convince Pakku to teach her to use her waterbending for combat and not just for healing. He could not help but admire her for her determination to improve her skills. However, he had a feeling she had still not told him the real reason she had left her home.

Even though she was a princess, she did not act haughty or spoiled like the noblewomen he was used to back in the Fire Nation. Instead, she was kind and considerate. Although she did have a temper that she did not bother to hold back. She was stubborn as well, almost as much as him, and because of those traits they shared they would clash once in a while, usually over going outside and finding her friends.

He had to admit that he did not want her to leave him. He enjoyed her company—more than he ever had anyone else's—and he did not want to be alone again. Yet, he knew he would have to let her go one day. She was not his prisoner and he did not want her to stay against her will. He wanted her to be happy and he didn't know how she could be stuck here with only him for company, away from her friends and family.

"I found some herbs and a few berries," Katara's voice made him focus back on her. "We can head back now. The wind is picking up again."

 _"I will take you back,"_ he said as he reached for her. It still amazed him how easily she stepped into his clawed hand, trustingly letting him wrap her within his large talons. _"I will go hunt for some food before the storm hits again."_

A few minutes later, while Zuko was out hunting, Katara washed the berries and herbs she found in the small pool. The glow from the crystals in the ceiling provided enough light for her to do the task. She remembered Aang telling her these kinds of berries were edible, so she planned to look for more.

Her thoughts once again returned to the events of the past few weeks she had spent with Zuko, and once again, she was saddened by what he had revealed. It must be horrible finding your life changed so drastically and she could not imagine the pain and suffering Zuko had gone through being held captive for months, being constantly attacked, and living alone for years. But it must have been worse knowing it was your own sister who caused all those misfortunes. And that same sister killed your mother and father just for her greed to rise in power. It was terrible.

She was surprised that her need to find Sokka and her friends was becoming less urgent and the need to find a way to help Zuko break his curse became more crucial. She did not want to leave him because then he would be alone again because it seemed she was the only one who could hear him.

But, how could she help him break his curse?

Besides, she had come to enjoy spending time with him. After much persuasion, she was able to make him open up to her. She found that he was naturally a quiet and reserved person. And though it was sometimes annoying, she found she was beginning to appreciate his taciturn character and their companionable silence the more time passed. He challenged her mind and constantly asked about the world and the changes it has gone through since his curse. He was surprised and amazed at the things that have progressed, but she could sense it sometimes upset him to know he had missed so many things over the years.

She still found it incredible that he had survived for fifty years, both as a dragon and alone. Which made her wonder—would he be an old man if his curse was broken? That would be sad since then he would not have much time left to enjoy his life as a human again. She shook her head from such sad thoughts. She could only imagine what he felt at such a possibility.

She had also learned that Zuko was terrible at telling jokes, which amused her greatly when he became indignant when she didn't find them funny. He was really great at telling scary stories though, that made her skin prickle and her hair stand on end with fear.

Although his childhood was unlike that of other children since he was always training and studying to become the next Fire Lord, he did have some fond memories about his mother of them sitting at the turtle-duck pond in their garden, going so far as to recount the time he was bitten by an angry turtle-duck mother. She had laughed hard at the pout she could make out from his tone. He also talked about his training with his uncle and about the sage advice the man used to give him. It was not difficult to sense how much he missed them. And it was sad to know the only people he had cared for were gone. She felt they understood each other, having both lived through their mothers' deaths. That connection made her want to help him more.

Zuko was different from the men who had wanted to court her. They had been shallow and fake, vying only for her title, wanting her only for her looks. They did not bother to listen to her or know her as a person the way Zuko did. Most of them were very vain and arrogant, while others had been boring or uninteresting. Some even became cruel and hateful when she rejected them, which she was glad to find out before she made the mistake of marrying one of them.

And then there were some who were too forward and wouldn't take no for an answer. Those she gladly slapped or water whipped before they were chased away by Sokka or her father. And then there was…She frowned and quickly shook her head. If it wasn't because she knew it was her duty to marry well to bring honor to her family, she would have decided to have no more suitors.

Zuko treated her with respect and she could not help but appreciate him for that. Why couldn't any of her other suitors be like him? She again—as she had for weeks now—started to wonder what Zuko had looked like when he was a human. If she remembered correctly from her history lessons it was said he had been considered a handsome man. She could not help being curious. She shook her head of such thoughts since it didn't really matter.

Sounds coming from the bigger chamber alerted her to Zuko returning from his hunt. She quickly gathered her things and walked back. She could see that snow was melting from his back, which meant another snowstorm had appeared.

Zuko dropped the piece of caribou-elk he had caught and looked at Katara when she walked in. She gave him a small smile and he nodded since he couldn't return her smile. He lay down on his grassy bedding while Katara began to clean and cook her meal. They were silent for a moment as the sound of the meat cooking and the firewood popping echoed in the large cave.

 _"How did you learn to cook? It's not something princesses usually learn_ ," he spoke up curiously.

"Sometimes my mother used to cook in the kitchen and it fascinated me when I watched her as a child. She was just teaching me the basics when…she passed away," she paused for a moment, a catch to her tone, before she continued, "I later begged Father to allow me to learn and our cook was more than happy to teach me. And I'm glad for it since it has come in handy."

She laughed quietly before she looked up to grin at him.

"Did you ever want to learn?" she asked teasingly.

 _"No,"_ he replied amusedly, _"All I wanted was to excel in firebending and martial arts. I never gave it a thought since we had excellent cooks to make our meals."_

The waterbender rolled her eyes.

"You're a prince, alright. A spoiled one," she said with a laugh.

He growled and snapped his fangs at her, which only caused her to laugh more loudly and made him chuckle.

Katara could hear his rumbling laughter from his chest as well as in her mind.

"Being a dragon doesn't seem so bad," she added after a moment. "You can breathe fire and fly! And you're practically invincible!"

Zuko shook his head and glanced briefly into the blazing fire.

 _"Being a dragon has its perks, but it's horrible. I can't do the things I could before and I can't communicate with people, besides you. And the worst part is that everybody fears me, so I'm always alone being hated."_

Katara's amusement quickly vanished at his words. She berated herself for making light of his situation. She stood up from where she was sitting next to the fire and approached him. She watched as he looked at her curiously, but she did not say anything and instead sat down next to his head. Slowly, she reached forward and touched his face.

"I don't fear or hate you," she said firmly before she more softly added, "And you don't have to be alone anymore."

Zuko's eyes widened at her words. His heart started to pound at the hope that she would stay. With him. He could feel that pull, like a magnet, toward her becoming stronger, more demanding. He stared into her blue eyes, unable to look away, and wanted to get closer. But he quickly shook himself from the sudden spell and glanced away.

No. He should not get his hopes up.

It was impossible a woman like her would love someone like him. He needed to stop being a fool.

 _"We should rest,"_ he said instead.

Katara frowned and moved her hand away, curling it on her lap. Did she upset him? She had only wanted to make him feel better. Feeling confused—and admittedly, upset—she stood up slowly. Just as she walked back to her bedroll, she heard him in her head again.

 _"Thank you, Katara."_

She smiled.

"You're welcome."

When the waterbender was safety nestled in her sleeping bag and sleeping soundly, Zuko allowed himself to think back on her words. He wondered once again what that strange pull toward her meant. It felt as if a string attached him to her and it kept getting shorter, pulling even tighter.

What did it mean? He had a vague recollection of his uncle explaining about something like this, but he could not really recall since at the time he had been too caught in his tragic situation to listen to him. It did not matter. She would leave and he would probably never see her again.

He would enjoy the time he had with the lovely waterbender as much as possible before he was once again left to live his life in solitude.

He just hoped he could survive the loneliness this time.

* * *

The following day, the weather was holding up, even the sun could be seen through some gaps in the clouds, although it was not strong enough to chase away the cold. The dragon and the princess were outside, enjoying the mild weather. However, the climate change reminded them that winter would pass and they would have to part ways soon.

As Katara gathered more berries and herbs, Zuko watched from a distance, although his mind was focused on other things. Once it was safe for her to travel, Katara would want to leave a freak like him and find her brother and friends, and eventually return to her home. And there would be nothing he could do to stop her. What would he do then? She would live her life, find a man to settle with and start a family, while he wasted his days in a cave. A low growl left his throat at the thought of her being happy with some other man. He focused back on her to see that she was walking further away from him through a cluster of tall bushes.

 _"Be careful,"_ he warned her.

 _"I'll be fine_ ," he heard her grumble in his mind before she laughed, _"Don't worry your pretty, dragon head."_

He let out a loud snort and mentally smiled when he heard her silent giggles as she disappeared through the bushes, collecting berries as she went and placing them inside her pack. His amusement disappeared as he once again worried about the fact that she would leave and he won't ever see or hear her again.

He snapped his head up when he heard a loud cracking sound from the direction Katara had gone before he heard her shocked cry and then a splash.

 _"Katara!"_ he shouted as he jumped to his feet and raced forward.

Snow and branches flew in every direction as he crashed through the cluster of shrubberies and trees. He paused when he saw that Katara had wandered to the edge of the lake which had been covered in snow, and had fallen through a weak spot. There was a hole in the surface and pieces of ice floated slowly in the water.

Why had she not resurfaced? Panicking, he was about to dive in when he finally saw her pull herself onto the slippery surface of the ice with her waterbending.

Katara gasped for breath as she weakly struggled to keep herself from losing consciousness. She had struck her head on the edge of the ice when she fell and had become a bit disoriented. She could feel a thin line of warm blood trickling down her temple. It had taken her a moment to force herself to waterbend since the pain and freezing cold had made her limbs numb. She opened her eyes when she felt herself being gently picked up and she looked up to smile weakly at Zuko.

He placed her carefully on the snow, away from the lake's edge, and looked worriedly down at her, seeing the blood seeping from a small cut. He once again ignored the pull at the scent of her blood as he watched her use a bit of water to heal her wound.

 _"Are you all right?"_ he asked anxiously.

"I-I'm fine. Just a bit s-shaken up…and c-cold," she replied with a shiver.

She used her waterbending to extract the moisture from her clothes and hair. She felt foolish. She should have paid more attention to where she was going, but she had been distracted with searching for more herbs and berries to stock up on before another storm hit, while wondering how her father and friends were doing. Another shudder racked her body. Her skin felt very cold and her limbs were still numb.

Zuko felt his concern deepened when Katara began to shiver uncontrollably. Wanting to get her warm as soon as possible, he did not say anything else as he picked her up with his talon and took flight. He barely heard her gasp at the sudden movement and the sharp wind his wings created.

Once in the cave, he immediately rushed toward the small room with the pool, intent on preparing a hot bath for her.

"N-no," she stuttered, "I can barely m-move."

Zuko moved quickly back to the main cave and set her down her bedroll while he grabbed pieces of wood from the pile he had collected before. He arranged them and then lit them on fire to create a strongly, blazing campfire.

Katara sighed softly and shuddered as the warmth touched her cold skin. She just needed a few more minutes for her body to adjust to the change of temperature until she was back to normal, she was sure.

 _"Take off your clothes."_

The waterbender slowly looked up to gape at the looming dragon.

"Um, what?"

Zuko almost smirked at her shocked expression.

 _"You need to disrobe and put on some dry clothes,"_ he explained.

"Oh," she uttered, feeling her cheeks warm at her misinterpretation of his words. She must have hit her head harder than she thought. "I left my pack outside. Sokka's extra clothes are in there."

 _"I'll look for it later,"_ he replied, _"But for now you need to warm up quicker."_

He snatched the blanket she had folded next to her hours before with his teeth and draped it over her.

 _"You still need to disrobe. Your clothes must be cold and stiff. Wrap yourself in the blanket and move closer to the fire,"_ he ordered.

Katara wanted to snap at him that she already knew that—the sharp cold and the ache in her head were making her cranky—but instead she muttered for him to look away. Once he did, she shakily took off her clothes and threw them to the side, making note that she needed to wash them later. It was a bit more difficult to remove her boots with her stiff fingers, but she finally managed. Once finished, she wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and scooted closer to the warmth of the fire. She tried to ignore the blush that threatened to surface at the fact that she was naked beneath the blanket.

Once he was sure she was done and covered, Zuko turned back, observing that she was still shivering even though she was sitting close to the fire. Not wanting her to get sick, he lay down next to her and carefully nudged her into the crook between his arm and chest.

"What are you doing?"

 _"Keeping you warm,"_ he replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right."

Zuko watched as a red blush settled on her cheeks and she seemed to clutch the blanket like a shield around her.

 _"What's wrong?"_ he asked.

"Nothing," she replied quickly.

 _"That's a lie,"_ he huffed.

"It's nothing," she said stubbornly.

 _"I don't believe you."_

Katara spluttered for a moment before she huffed at him, although her blush seemed to deepen.

"I, uh, I never…" she trailed off before she mentally continued, _"I've never been almost…naked with a man—er, male close by before…"_

Zuko stared incredulously down at her. Did that mean she was…?

 _"You've never…been with a man?"_ he asked disbelievingly.

"Why do you say it like that?" she snapped at him. "What kind of woman do you think I am?"

 _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any insult,"_ he quickly apologized when she glared at him.

"Why do you seem so surprised then?" she grumbled. "Do I look like a whore or what?"

 _"Of course not!"_ he exclaimed before he carefully added, _"It's just a bit surprising since you're a beautiful woman and many men must have been eager to…uh, jump into your bed."_

 _I know I would,_ he thought to himself before he berated himself for thinking that. He scowled at the feeling of jealousy that beset him at the thought of other men being able to touch her.

"Oh, okay," Katara muttered, trying to ignore how pleased she felt that he thought she was beautiful. She wrapped the blanket closer around herself and shrugged. "Many have proposed such things, but I refuse to be sleep around with random men."

She paused and then in a quieter tone, she continued, "I…want my first time to be special and with the man I love."

Ah, so she _was_ a virgin, he mused. He could not understand the euphoria he felt at that fact, so he ignored it for now. He did not reply for a moment and thought if only he could be that man she could love. He would gladly show her the ways of carnal pleasure—at least from what he knew from the few sexual encounters he had before he was cursed. The rest they could learn by experimentation and many, many tries. He quickly shook his head for fantasizing such things when he knew it was impossible.

Katara's laugh—a little self-conscious and awkward—snapped him from his thoughts.

"I must sound stupid," she said with another shrug.

 _"Your views are not stupid,"_ he replied firmly, _"Everybody thinks differently."_

"Thanks," she muttered before she quickly added, "But I've kissed a couple of men before. Although, they always ended up being jerks," she grumbled.

She did not want to seem _that_ naïve or inexperienced.

Zuko again felt that flare of jealousy, but could not blame her curiosity since he had done much more.

"When you were a man did you…?" Katara began to ask before she trailed off meaningfully.

The cursed prince shifted uncomfortably at her question.

 _"Why do you ask?"_ he asked evasively.

"I'm curious," she replied before she exclaimed, "Besides, you basically made me confess I'm a virgin!"

Zuko mentally chuckled when her eyes widened at her outburst before she tried to cover her mortification with a hard glare. He shifted uneasily once again. He was normally a private man and he did not like to talk about such private things. But admittedly, he did not want Katara to think he was some kind of womanizer or something like that.

 _"As a prince, I had the…privilege to…know women,"_ he worded carefully.

Katara felt a pang in her chest at his admission, but she stubbornly ignored it. But he was her friend. She had begun to care a lot about him in the short time they were together. And she was always protective of her friends. That must be it. It wasn't like she liked him or anything. They barely knew each other! She didn't even know how he looked as a human. But then why did it bother her?

"Were there…many?" she asked tentatively. She did not know why it even mattered or why she wanted to know.

 _"No,"_ he replied truthfully. _"Only a few and only when…the need was too great. I was too busy to think much about it. Besides, I never made use of the brothel once I got…engaged."_

Katara's eyes widened. He had been engaged? She didn't remember reading about that in her lessons. A strange, tight feeling settled on her chest and she frowned. Wait. Was she jealous? No, that couldn't be it. That would be ridiculous!

"Oh, uh, your…intimate moments with her must have been special then," she said, for lack of anything else to say.

A snort escaped the large dragon.

 _"I never touched her,"_ he replied.

"Why not?" she asked curiously. Wasn't it normal for an engaged couple to become intimate? At least, that's what she had heard some of the tribe's young women from the nobility giggle about when they thought she wasn't listening.

 _"To be honest I was not attracted to her,"_ he explained bluntly. _"I was also afraid that if we were intimate, we would've been married quicker than I'd wished."_

Katara frowned as she wondered why he wouldn't want to marry the woman he had chosen as his wife as soon as possible.

 _"After it was declared that I had disappeared, my uncle told me that Mai had married a young nobleman named Ruon-Jian."_

"That's horrible!" Katara gasped. She slipped one hand from within the blanket to gently pat his arm in sympathy.

Zuko looked down at her quizzically, but found comfort in her touch, nonetheless.

"Did you love her very much?" she asked softly. She knew she would be devastated if she found out the man she loved married someone else.

 _"Love?"_ he said slowly before he shook his head. _"I…cared for her as a person, but love…? No. I did not love her."_

"But you were going to marry her?" she asked with a frown.

 _"Love had nothing to do with it,"_ he replied. His words reminded him that he had said that same thing to his uncle all those years ago. _"It was a political marriage meant to unite two powerful families."_

The princess' frown deepened as she thought over his words. Even Zuko thought that way. Was she perhaps too naïve and childish to hope for a marriage based on love, trust, and respect just like her parents' marriage? Should she just accept the man her father chose for her as her husband?

 _"You're upset,"_ he stated worriedly as he scented her distress.

"It's not your fault," she told him. "You just made me question my own ideals and plans. And if I should maybe stop running away and accept my responsibilities."

 _"What do you mean?"_

Zuko watched as she inhaled and then exhaled deeply, tightening the blanket around her, a small frown marring her brow.

"Many suitors have approached me for my hand in marriage ever since I turned sixteen," she began. "It's tradition for the Water Tribe princesses and noblewomen to be married by then, but luckily, my father was in no hurry to marry me off. Yet, I still had to deal with suitors as is tradition. My father and brother forced away the ones I didn't like, which were almost all of them. So I began to think that I would be safe to choose my own husband when I was ready. But it all changed a few months ago."

She paused and Zuko saw her bite her lip uncertainly before she stopped and narrowed her eyes.

"When word reached us that Fire Lord Azula was planning to wage war, everything changed," she hissed.

The cursed prince wondered once again what secrets she was keeping. What was the truth about why she had left her home? Would she finally tell him?

"Because of the threat of war, Father thought it was imperative for me to marry as soon as possible in order to keep me safe," she continued softly before her tone hardened. "Then one day the Earth King's son came to visit and wanted me as his bride."

 _"Is he ugly or old?"_ Zuko asked curiously, wondering at the dislike in her tone.

"No, quite the opposite, he is young, handsome, and charming," she replied with a sigh.

Jealousy once again assaulted Zuko before he crushed the unwanted feeling.

 _"But you didn't want to marry him,"_ he stated after a moment of silence. _"Why?"_

"Honestly, I was thinking about it at first," she admitted before she muttered, "I even began to like him, thinking that one day he could be a man I could learn to love. But that only lasted a few weeks. I soon found out he was arrogant, rude, and sometimes even mean."

She paused and Zuko could sense her anger growing.

"I also found out that he was…using the female servants to…service him," she growled, "But when I confronted him about it, he denied it and said they were lying, stating that he only had eyes for me." She rolled her eyes.

"But when he saw that I was not falling for his charms anymore, he…" she trailed off.

Zuko could see her hands clenching the blanket tightly. He felt his stomach drop at what the man could have done to her.

 _"Did he hurt you?"_ he asked, barely able to stop the growl forming in his throat from manifesting.

"Not physically," she answered quietly before her ire once again resurfaced, "He began to corner me whenever I was alone and said lewd things. Horrid things describing what he would do to me once we married. He went so far as trying to kiss and touch me…intimately one day."

He had cornered her in an empty room and pushed her against the wall before she knew what he had planned. Then he had tried to kiss her while at the same time he tried to strip her of her clothes. She had been too shocked at what was happening to react quickly, but when his hand slipped beneath her dress, she had become angry and lashed out.

"A punch to the face and a knee to his groin made him rethink his moves," she said darkly. She had cursed at him while he grabbed himself in pain before she angrily stormed from the room.

At her words, Zuko was unable to stop his growl as his anger increased at this unknown man's actions. He sounded like the type that had no honor, no man at all.

"He began to pressure my father for my hand," she continued. "I tried to tell my father what he was saying to me and what he was doing, but he has such a way to him that makes people believe everything he says. He denied my claims about what he tried to do and said that I was just saying such things because I didn't want to marry and because of _my maidenly fears_ ," she scoffed angrily.

"He stated the urgency for my safety and proclaimed his undying devotion to me, which began to sway Father," she hissed furiously. "He assured Father I would be safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se and that I would always be happy.

"When I realized that Father was beginning to prepare for a compromise on my marriage with the prince and that he wouldn't believe me, I decided to leave. I asked Sokka and my friends to help me." Her eyes narrowed. "I refuse to marry such a cruel, dishonorable man. I believe my grandparents would give me shelter and help me convince Father he was making a mistake. I hope I can persuade him to give me the choice to choose my own husband, a man I love. Or at least one I respect."

She shook her head.

"But perhaps I'm being silly. Perhaps it's best I return home and do what is expected of me," she murmured with a frown.

 _"Most of the time that would be the best choice, but sometimes you have to choose what makes you happy,"_ Zuko spoke up, remembering such words his uncle had once told him. _"Although I find the idea of love difficult to believe, I admire you for fighting for your beliefs."_

"Why do you find it difficult to believe?" she asked curiously.

 _"I sometimes wonder if love really exists_ ," he replied honestly. _"I've seen many hurt the one they claim to love. My own parents married for political reasons, as well as my sister, and they were miserable. The same thing would have happened to me if I had married Mai. She did not mourn me for long before she married someone else, despite claiming she loved me."_

"Does that make you sad?" she asked softly.

Zuko snorted.

 _"No, but it did annoy me to be replaced so easily,"_ he rumbled.

Katara giggled as he huffed haughtily.

Zuko inwardly smiled before he became serious once again.

 _"Knowing how this man is, it would be foolish of you to accept him as your husband,"_ he told her.

"You're right," she agreed with a smile. "Thanks. Now I don't feel so horribly guilty for leaving home like that. I just hope Father can forgive me and understand why I had to."

 _"I'm sure he will,"_ Zuko assured her. He did not like the thought of her being sad so he wanted to make her feel better. _"He sounds like he only wants your safety and happiness, so he would at least wonder why you would go to such lengths so as not to marry this man."_

"I hope so," Katara murmured as she idly played with the hem of the blanket with her fingers. "You know," she began as she glanced up to smile at him, "I've never talked to anyone about such things before. Thank you…for listening."

 _"I should thank you for the same courtesy,"_ he responded as he stared down at her, _"Except for my mother and uncle, no one has ever listened to me this way before when I was human."_

The waterbender could not look away from his golden, reptilian eyes that seemed to glow from the light of the campfire. His quiet confession only made her want to help him out more, to be his friend.

"I like to hear you talk about yourself," she admitted with a smile, "You're interesting."

Zuko felt warmth in his chest at her soft words and the sincere smile she gave him, once again feeling that magnetic pull toward her. What should he say? What should he do? He hated feeling so unsure of himself, but he did not know what to do with such strange feelings since he had never experienced them before. Instead, he carefully brought her closer to him.

 _"You should rest,"_ he said. _"Are you still cold?"_

"No, I stopped being cold a while ago," she responded with a soft yawn. Now that he mentioned rest, she did feel a little tired.

She wrapped herself comfortably in the blanket and snuggled closer to his warm body. The hard scales had discomfited her the first few times he had grabbed her, but she found the warm touch to be comforting.

"Goodnight," she yawned before she softly murmured, "Thank you for helping me today."

 _"Goodnight,"_ Zuko responded as he looked down to see her yawn again before he added steadfastly, _"You're welcome. I won't let anything harm you if I can help it."_

"The same thing goes for me," she responded sleepily, but looked up to smile at him so he could see she was sincere.

She was once again mesmerized by his glowing, amber eyes. She drowsily thought about probably going to check to see if her clothes were completely dry—which she was sure they were—but she was feeling sleepy and did not feel like moving from the comfortable place she had made close to Zuko's arm and chest. Perhaps it was because she trusted Zuko that she did not feel alarmed that she was nude beneath the blanket. Would she feel the same way if he was human?

Suddenly, his reptilian pupils transform into human ones, though still glowing and intense, as she imagined a human Zuko leaning down toward her. He reached for the blanket and tugged on it slowly so it slipped from her hands, while his face moved closer to hers. She could just feel his warm breath on her lips, feel her breasts ache at the thought of his hands on her, feeling a warmth grow in her lower stomach. What would it feel like to be touched so intimately?

She blinked and human Zuko was gone and dragon Zuko was looking curiously down at her. Her eyes widened in mortification. Did she just have a fantasy about Zuko? While he was just inches away from her?! La, her imagination and her body's reactions seemed to be more intense than usual. What was wrong with her?

 _"Are you okay?"_ Zuko asked when he heard Katara's heart pick up speed and she gaped up at him.

Her scent had changed into something spicy yet sweet, a scent that seemed to make his mouth water, which only confused him because he could not identify it and did not know why it made him react in such a way.

"I'm fine!" Katara squeaked before she cleared her throat and repeated more calmly, "I'm fine. It's nothing. We should go to sleep."

"Alright," Zuko replied distractedly as that spicy scent pleasantly tickled his nose. It was all he could do not to shove his face onto Katara's body so he could take big whiffs. He was sure he would alarm and upset her if he did such a strange thing.

It was a long moment later when sleep finally claimed the blue-eyed princess, too tired to keep feeling embarrassed.

The red dragon alternated between watching the fire and the sleeping waterbender. The only reason he took his eyes off of her was because he felt guilty for staring at her while she slept. His ears perked when he heard her murmur something before she rolled over onto her back. He looked down to see the blanket had slipped a little with her movements. His eyes widened at the small glimpse of the top of one tempting breast. He felt that almost dead lust resurface, stronger than before, but he forced himself to look away and calm himself down.

He had told her that he would do anything to keep her safe and he would do so even if it was from himself. He cared for her and he wanted her to be happy, to be safe.

He should stop lying to himself. It was becoming too obvious that he felt more than just simple affection for her.

He…was beginning to fall for her.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fangs.

It was going to hurt when she left.

* * *

The Chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe stared worriedly out into the ocean. The setting sun made the water sparkle and the sky turn to fire, but he did not pay any attention to the stunning visual nature was providing. He was worried for his children, constantly wondering where they were and if they were all right.

He had been angry at first when he discovered Katara's letter stating that she was leaving because she did not like his choice for her future husband. He did not understand why she refused to marry the Ba Sing Se prince? He was handsome and he was such a nice young man. He could only agree that Katara was just refusing to marry and was using any excuse. But it was her duty! As a Water Tribe princess she had to bring honor to their family and country by marrying well. And not only that, he just wanted her to be safe and protected if Fire Lord Azula's threat of war came to pass.

But she had disobeyed his order about not leaving the protection of the city. She had left her home. And it only made him even angrier to know his son had gone along with her plan instead of coming to him with the issue. They knew how dangerous the world was. What if some pirates had captured them or killed them like they did to his precious Kya?

He felt his throat constrict at the memory of holding her bleeding, unresponsive body in his arms. Even after all these years he could not forget that horrible day nor could he forget her. She had been his everything and in just one brief moment she had been taken from him. He could not let the same thing happen with his children. They were all he had left.

He had thought that they had perhaps gone to his father-in-law for shelter in the Northern Water Tribe, so he had sent a letter to ask Pakku to immediately send his wayward children home. But to his growing worry, Pakku had responded that his grandchildren had not arrived in the Northern Water Tribe. Where could they be?

"Hakoda," the sound of his name made him look behind him.

He watched as Bato made his way toward him. Bato and he had been friends since they were children and had gone through many things together. His friend had even suffered severe scars on one arm for saving his life when one of their ships had caught on fire and they had been trapped, which Hakoda would always be grateful for. Which was one reason why Bato was the only one who called him by name and not his title.

"A message from Ba Sing Se has arrived," Bato told him as he handed him the bound scroll.

The chieftain took it and quickly broke the seal, unfurling it impatiently. The short missive was from the prince stating that he was also searching for the Southern Water Tribe princess and hoped to find her soon so they could marry. Hakoda hummed as he finished reading. It was obvious by the young man's writing that he really cared for Katara.

He would appreciate the prince's help in locating her. Maybe he would even find her quicker than Hakoda would with the help of the Dai Li. Perhaps by spending time together Katara would come to love the prince.

"I can't understand why Katara is so against marrying the prince," he said as he looked up to frown at his friend. "He's so nice and proper, not to mention good-looking. And he's so infatuated with Katara. He would protect her and make a good husband for her."

"Perhaps," Bato spoke up calmly as he watched his friend and chieftain frown at the sea, "But that might not be what Princess Katara is looking for in a husband."

"She needs a husband that could keep her safe and protected if it's true Azula means to wage war against the world," Hakoda grumbled.

"Yes, but would she be happy with a man she does not love or want?" Bato replied softly.

Hakoda's frowned as he thought over what his friend had said. His frown deepened as he remembered his daughter saying the prince had tried to impose himself on her. He just could not imagine such a nice young man capable of such a thing, especially since it was so obvious he loved Katara, but he also knew his daughter was not a liar. He realized that he had dismissed the possibility since his whole focus was on making sure Katara would not be harmed if the Southern Water Tribe was attacked. Ba Sing Se had the strongest defenses of any place in the world.

But Bato was right. What would be the point if Katara was safe, but she was miserably married? To a man who could hurt her? And it would be all his fault for ignoring her concerns. No, he wanted her to be happy. He wanted his children to have the same kind of happy marriage Kya and he had.

Perhaps he should hear Katara out and take her concerns seriously instead of thinking about them as the distresses of an unexperienced young woman. Katara was no longer a little girl and she knew her mind. He should have listened to her. He frowned. Perhaps they could talk over her dislike of the prince and he could investigate more about her accusations toward the man. Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding and he could convince her to at least give him a chance. But if what she said were true, he would punish the prince, even if it meant war with Ba Sing Se.

He would just have to hope a better man appeared for his daughter to keep her safe, to make her happy. Because that was all he wanted for his children.

* * *

 **A/N: Uh oh.**

 **Thank you for reading! Please don't forget to leave me a review :)**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	9. Which the Princess Begins to Understand

**Hi! I apologize for the long wait! I've been so busy, I don't have much time for fanfiction. But here is the new chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Many thanks for my awesome Beta reader, PurseMonger!**

AtLA is not mine.

* * *

Chapter Eight

 ** _In Which the Princess Begins to Understand_**

* * *

Ocean-blue eyes fluttered open and a soft yawn disrupted the silence as the Southern Water Tribe princess slowly woke up from the lovely dream she was having about her childhood, when her mother was still alive. The dream ended quickly when the memory of her mother bleeding to death and her father crying out it anguish resurfaced. Her eyes flew open and darted dazedly around her only for her to remember that she was not home but in a cave with a cursed prince in a dragon's body. She relaxed, her thundering heart slowing, knowing she was safe with her friend.

She realized she was curled up to Zuko's warm chest while his large, draconic body curled around hers, blocking most of her view of the cave and the fire. She could sense that he was still sleeping, which was rare since he was usually awake before her because of the energy he received from the sun. Smiling, she wrapped her blanket closer around her and snuggled close to his strong chest, absentmindedly listening to his beating heart as she tried to forget her sad memories. She smiled again when she felt Zuko's long tail wrap around her middle and heard him let out a soft croon. It was almost like he instinctively reacted to her emotions. Was that a dragon trait? It was comforting, even if it had been disconcerting the first few times she had found his tail wrapped around her.

Five days had passed since she had fallen into the frozen lake and ever since then she had slept snuggled up to his hard and scaly, though warm, body. He provided more warmth than her sleeping bag did, that's for sure.

She had noticed, however, that Zuko was acting differently lately. He kept a closer eye on her when they went outside, asked her if she was comfortable enough in the cave, if she wanted other types of meat to eat, and other things. She did not know how to explain it, but he acted gentler toward her now…more caring. At first, it had unsettled her, and it even angered her that he thought she was weak and needed to be watched over. But he told her he did not think of her like that and that he had just wanted to make her more comfortable, so she began to enjoy the attention he was giving her.

He was not like the other men who tried to impress her and win her affections by giving her expensive gifts or complimenting her on her physical beauty. None had cared to get to know what she liked or didn't like as long as they married the Southern Water Tribe Princess. Although Zuko did give her things, it seemed to be with no other motive than to make sure she was cared for. He actually listened to her when she talked, and although he rarely contributed to the conversation, she knew he paid attention to everything she said. He even asked her to sing for him once in a while.

Even though he was in the body of a dragon, a creature everybody feared and thought as a monster, she knew he was anything but a ruthless beast. He may not be open or affable, but she knew that he was a kind and honorable man who had been unjustly punished. The more she stayed with him and the more she learned of him, the more she wished to stay by his side.

She desperately wanted to know how to break Zuko's curse. But every time she asked he would say that it was impossible, that it would never be broken and refused to give her any details. She just could not believe that he would be curse forever! She would find a way to break it and free Zuko from this torment. But if she couldn't find a cure, then what? The snow and ice would melt and she wouldn't have an excuse to stay with him. Yes, she had agreed that she couldn't leave because of the blizzards during the harsh winter, but come spring it would be safe to do so. She needed to find Sokka and her friends, but the truth was that she did not want to leave Zuko.

Although she knew she should still be cautious since she had only known him a short time, that fact did not really matter to her. She could not explain it, but there was something about him that made her trust him, that made her feel comfortable and safe with him. Yet it was also thrilling and exhilarating to be near him. There was something that kept tugging her toward him. What it was or what it meant, she did not know, but she decided not to worry about it for the moment. She had other things to worry about such as her friends' whereabouts, her father's concern and anger, her uncertain future, and finding a way to break Zuko's curse.

But what if she did find a way to help him? What would happen once he became a human man again? Would he leave and return to the Fire Nation with only a thanks and a goodbye? But what was she expecting? It wasn't as if he had to remain by her side. They were just friends and nothing more. She frowned when the thought made her heart ache. But did that mean she wanted more? And how would that even be possible? Ugh, she was losing her mind.

 _"What's wrong?"_ Zuko's voice intruding into her thoughts made her jump. _"What has you frowning like that?"_

"Nothing," she responded quickly, feeling her cheeks heat up. Thank La Zuko could not hear all her confusing thoughts.

Zuko mentally frowned at her quick, evasive response. He had woken up a moment ago, once again curled around her (he could not explain the pleasure he felt at being so close to her) and realized she was already awake. She seemed lost in her thoughts, so he had not disturbed her. It wasn't until her scent changed from content to anxious, and he saw her frown did he decide to ask what was bothering her.

 _"Do you miss your family?"_ he asked softly. Before she could respond, he added assuredly, _"Don't worry, once the weather improves you would be able to search for them. It won't be long until you're able to leave."_

Katara felt her heart constrict at his words and she felt her eyes suddenly water. She hastily rubbed at her eyes to stop the tears.

What was wrong with her?

And why did she feel so rejected, damn it?

The salty scent of her tears, and the fact that she was trying to hide it, made Zuko shift in alarm. Had he said something wrong? He moved his arm so he could bring her closer to his chest in an attempt to comfort her, but he honestly did not know how. If it had been any other woman and they were back in the palace, he would have moved away and looked for someone else to handle the situation, but this was different because it was Katara.

He realized two things at that moment—he hated to see her cry and he wanted to be the one to make her smile.

Bending his head down, he gently rubbed his cheek against the top of her head and began to rumble a purr-like sound from his chest. He had no idea he could produce such a sound, but instinctively he knew it would soothe her.

Katara paused in trying to wipe the sudden tears away when she heard the strangely comforting sound and felt it vibrate through her body. Was he trying to…comfort her? She was mortified at the fact that she had let her emotions get the better of her, but at the same time she liked that he was trying to make her feel better. Cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Katara moved slightly away as she dashed at her eyes.

Zuko allowed her to move back, but his tail remained wrapped around her as he stared silently down at her, still wondering what had caused her tears.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled.

 _"It's okay,"_ he replied, _"Do you feel better?"_

"Yeah. I don't know what came over me."

 _"Do you want to go outside?"_ he asked, wanting to distract her and hoping it would make her feel better.

He mentally smiled when she instantly brightened up and looked up to give him a large smile.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet, relieved that he had not prolonged her embarrassment by asking what was wrong again. She would not have known how to respond to that question.

Zuko chuckled at her enthusiasm as he let her go so she could get ready for the day.

After they had eaten breakfast, Zuko flew them down the mountain. Fortunately, the small storm that had appeared the past few days had quieted. There were gray clouds in the sky, but no snow was falling and the wind was calm. As soon as he landed, Zuko placed Katara on her feet. While she wandered off, he took the time to stretch his back and limbs like a puma-cat, before doing the same with his wings and giving a loud yawn as he did so. He looked up when he heard Katara giggle. From the way she was watching him, it was obvious that she found his actions humorous and he growled playfully at her.

She only laughed harder before she returned her attention to her surroundings, deciding a bit of waterbending practice was in order. She hoped that after she found Sokka and her friends they could finally make their way to her grandparents' home so Gran Pakku could teach her how to fight. He would probably argue against the idea (he was set in the old ways, after all), but she was sure she could convince him, or have Gran-Gran do it.

Zuko indulgently watched the blue-eyed princess as she had her fun. He thought back on her tears and he wondered what happened to have caused them. He could not explain the upset it caused him to see her sad. Nobody had affected him in such a way before. It seemed that this woman kept making him feel unfamiliar things. He had assumed she was saddened about her brother and her friends, and it seemed he had been right because her eyes misted when he brought it up.

What if she was tired of staying holed up in a dark cave with him for weeks? Always in the presence of an oddity like him. A man trapped in the body of a dragon.

But Katara wasn't like that. She did not judge him for what he was—or was forced to be. That was one of the reasons that endeared her to him. Not only was she beautiful, smart, and courageous, but she was kind, compassionate, and gentle. The reason he had taken into wrapping her in his tail, pressed close to his chest, was not just for warmth as he had told her. No, he had a more selfish one. He wanted to feel her soft body close to his. To hear her soft breathing. To bask in her sweet scent. He wanted to keep her as close to him as possible while he had the chance because he knew come spring, she would leave the cave. She would leave him.

The cursed prince closed his eyes as the thought caused his chest to pound He did not want her to leave, he wanted her close. He wanted her to stay, not because she could break his curse, but because…he _loved_ her.

He loved her like he had never loved anything or anyone before and he could no longer pretend to ignore it.

A sound like a sigh fell from his fanged mouth as he lost himself in his revelation.

He wanted her to love him just as fiercely because he wanted her to remain by his side, because he wanted to make her happy. But that was just wishful thinking, for who would love a...dragon? A beast. A monster. Katara deserved better than him. He had nothing to offer and, apparently, he was five decades older than her! He did not deserve her.

A snowball hit him on his snout, and although it did not hurt, Zuko's eyes snapped open in shock. He glanced up when he heard muffled giggles. Katara was standing a few feet away, trying to hold in her laughter behind her gloved hands.

 _"You dare throw a_ snowball _at me?"_ he growled playfully as he narrowed his eyes at her, grateful that she had distracted him from his depressing thoughts. _"Don't you fear anything, woman? I am a dragon! I could bite your head off with my fangs!"_

Katara removed her hands from her mouth and batted her eyelashes at him.

"You may be scary from the outside, but you're just a big softie in the inside," she retorted with another laugh.

 _"A…softie? I'll show you softie when I chew off one of your legs!"_ he growled playfully as he bared his fangs and took one step toward her.

Laughing, the waterbender spun around just as Zuko lunged at her. Her laughter resounded throughout the frozen valley as she ran about the clearing and it sounded like music to his ears—as something he had heard his uncle say. Iroh was right. Love made you think the strangest things.

Katara dodged the dragon nimbly every time he came close to her, driving him back by pelting him with tons of snowballs with the help of her waterbending. But it only worked a little since he would easily deflect them with a wing or his tail, or melt them with a small flame he blew from his mouth. She knew he was going easy on her since he had come quite close to be able to snatch her with his talons or fangs, but it seemed he was having as much as fun as she. The thought only made the moment even better since she knew he had not participated in such silly games in a while—if at all.

The gray clouds had opened a little to allow a bit of sunlight to touch down on the mountainside as they continued in their game. Katara had thrown a few more snowballs at the chasing dragon when, in her distraction, she tripped over a log that had been hidden beneath a small mound of snow. She rolled onto her back, so she could spring back onto her feet, but she gasped when Zuko gently pinned her down with his clawed-hand, the long claws digging into the snow around her. He loomed over her, his large form blocking the sun and casting her in shadows.

 _"Submit now, princess, and perhaps I will show you mercy,"_ Zuko said haughtily as he stared down at her.

"You will have to kill me first! I will never submit, dragon!" she retorted just as playfully.

 _"Such defiance is unacceptable,"_ he rumbled. _"You're punishment is death!"_

Katara watched with wide eyes as he swiftly leaned down, his mouth wide open, his sharp fangs glistening in the minimal light. Instinctively, she closed her eyes with a shocked gasp as he growled at her. A moment later, her eyes flew open when she felt his long, rough tongue lick her from her chin to her temple.

 _"Ew! Gross!"_ she protested mentally as she moved her head to escape him, but she could not help her laughter at the unexpected act.

Zuko, however, froze as he stared down at her with wide eyes. He should not have licked her…for he had liked the taste of her sweet skin. As soon as her sweet flavor coursed down his throat, he wanted, _craved_ , more. It was the type of hunger that he had not felt in a long time. The feeling in his belly had nothing to do with food and everything to do with lust. While he had the body of a dragon, his mind and desires were that of a hot-blooded man. Something he himself had almost forgotten until now. He wondered what other places on her body would taste like…

His eyes became a bit unfocused as he imagined kissing her plump lips before trailing his tongue down her lovely neck down to her chest. He imagined kissing her mounds before teasing her nipples, flicking them with his tongue before moving down her enticing body. Unconsciously, his tongue flicked out to run against his sharp fangs as his fantasy continued. He wondered how she would taste if he licked her between her legs. He had never considered doing such an act before because it never seemed appealing to him. But he could not stop himself from wanting to shove his face between her luscious thighs and eat her slick sex like a man starved...

"Hey, are you okay?" the sound of Katara's voice immediately snapped him from his fantasy. "I would like to get off the cold ground, if you don't mind," she added sarcastically.

Zuko blinked down at her as the lust his sudden fantasy had created within him slowly faded. He slowly removed his talon away from her and moved back. Agni, he was becoming a huge pervert. He was surprised at himself for even having such an erotic daydream. Dammit, he needed to stop thinking such things!

 _"Sorry,"_ he mumbled apologetically.

Katara stood up and shook off the snow from her clothes.

"For a minute there, I thought you were going to eat me," she said as she removed the snow from her hair.

Zuko's eyes widened in alarm.

 _"Why do you say that?"_ he asked warily.

"You had this hungry look in your eyes as you stared at me," she responded teasingly.

 _"I did not!"_ he exclaimed.

"Oh, yes you did!" Katara laughed, "You were practically drooling!"

 _Oh, if only she knew, she would blush so hard it would remain for days!_ Zuko thought to himself. That or she would water whip him.

 _"Never mind,"_ he grunted, wanting to change the subject.

It was then he finally noticed the wind had picked up and the gloomy clouds were darker and heavier with snow. They had completely blocked the sun, so it was dimmer than it had been moments ago.

 _"We should head back."_

"But we were having fun," Katara protested, though she knew it was probably for the best. They didn't want to be caught in the storm.

 _"We missed lunch and we need to eat,"_ he said before adding cajolingly, _"You can practice your waterbending in the pool or we can sit by the fire and share scary stories."_

"Fine…but only because you're terrible at telling jokes," Katara huffed teasingly.

 _"We can't all be perfect,"_ he drawled playfully.

The waterbender rolled her eyes, but smiled at their banter. A night of scary stories sounded like fun, especially because Zuko had some really good ones he said his uncle used to tell him when he was younger. Sokka used to try to scare her when they were children, but his storytelling was more amusing than terrifying, so he gave up when she would just roll around with laughter. He had gone to complain to their father that she would laugh instead of being scared, and their father would only grin and say it was because their family was too tough to be frightened by silly stories. That had made both their young chests puff out in pride.

Katara smiled at the memories. Even though her mother's death had devastated them, they had managed to remain a happy family. Her smile faded a little. She just hoped they could remain so in the future.

 _"Luckily, we have enough food in the cave. We won't have to hunt before night arrives,"_ Zuko continued as he once again glanced at the dark sky.

The blue-eyed princess perked up. Once night fell it meant she could curl up against him again while they slept. Who else could say they slept snuggled up to large, frighteningly-looking, and powerful dragon?

"Alright, let's go," she said eagerly with a grin.

She waited for him to pick her up, but she frowned when he did not move. She watched as he lifted his head and scented the air before his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and a low growl escaped him. She felt her skin prick in sudden alarm at his reaction.

"What's wrong?" she whispered as she warily looked at their surroundings.

She looked back at him when he suddenly lowered himself closer to the ground, protectively close to her, one of his wings almost shielding her. A louder growl emitted from his throat and Katara instinctively prepared herself to use her waterbending.

 _"Stay close,"_ he urged as he stared intensely at a copse of trees and bushes, _"Someone is approaching."_

Katara moved closer to his foreleg, calling forth a stream of water from the snow toward her and curling it around her arm. She may not have training in combat, but that did not mean she was completely useless. She would help Zuko with whatever threat was approaching them as best as she could.

A moment later, the bushes rustled loudly and they tensed. They watched as a large man emerged from the thick foliage, cursing under his breath as he did so. His was dressed in thick furs, a thick beard covering most of his face. It was hard to tell the color of his hair since it was almost entirely covered with snow and frost. But it was the many weapons and bags strapped to his back, chest, and waist that caught their attention. Zuko cursed himself for not reacting quicker and taking them back to the cave. He shifted so that his wing completely covered Katara.

The man finally seemed to notice he was not alone and he snapped his head up, only for his eyes to widen in shock at the dragon glaring down at him. His surprise only lasted a second for he began to chuckle as he reached for a weapon strapped to his back.

"Must be me lucky day," he said to himself as he shifted what turned out to be a large crossbow, "I haven't found a dragon in so long, but I sure dinna 'xpect one in da Earth Kingdom. You, dragon, are gonna fetch me a nice bag o' gold for those lovely horns and fangs."

Zuko growled at him, but before he could scare the man off with a blast of fire, he felt Katara push her way under his wing, almost feeling her indignation. Before he could stop her, she had stepped out of her hiding spot, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at the shocked man.

"I won't let you hurt him," she hissed, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

She wouldn't allow another hunter to hurt Zuko if she could help it!

"What's tis?" the man spoke in an incredulous voice, "A woman? Why hasn't the dragon eaten ya yet? Are ya a witch?"

Katara ignored his question as her glare intensified.

"Leave," she demanded, using all her upbringing as a princess to make her tone as regal and commanding as possible.

She growled when the man threw his head back and chuckled. How dare he laugh in her face! If he knew who she was she was sure he would be groveling at her feet. Not that she would want him to, but still, it was infuriating. Once the man calmed down, he grinned maliciously at her.

"I'll leave, alright," he said as he stroked his crossbow, "Once I've hunted da beast down. After all, dragons don't come by so easily nowadays."

"What do you mean by that?" Katara could not help but ask.

"Don't ya know? How long have ye been living here?" he asked patronizingly before he added with an uncaring shrug, "Dragons are becomin' extinct. So if I bring tis dragon's claws, fangs, and horns I would make very good money. Maybe I'll even bathe in his disgusting blood and gain immortality!"

Katara's angry growl was drowned by Zuko's furious one.

The man sneered at the red dragon as he menacingly pointed his crossbow at him. Then he shifted his attention back on the woman. A leer appeared on his unkempt face.

"You're one beautiful thing. Once I'm finished with da dragon, I'll make use of ya," he cooed lasciviously as his eyes moved up and down her form, "After I had my fill of you, I sell ya to a brothel. Ye'd fetch me more money after I've trained you on how to please a man."

At his words and stare, Katara scowled, the idea of being touched by him disgusting her. But Zuko snapped his fangs angrily before he covered her again with his leathery wing as he roared fire at the man.

Cursing loudly, the man barely had enough time to evade the attack before he was knocked aside by the enraged dragon's long tail. He landed a couple of feet away, crashing into a pile of snow, sending it flying everywhere. He quickly jumped to his feet and glared at the growling dragon.

"Ya bastard!" the hunter screamed as he waved his crossbow angrily around, "I'll kill ya!"

Bringing it forward, he took aim at the dragon's chest, right where his heart should be, and fired. His arrow was thwarted, however, by a sudden wall of snow. The man watched with wide, shocked eyes as the snow rose higher and curved toward him like a terrifying wave. He gasped when it swept over him, knocking him back, and covering him completely.

It took him a moment to claw his way up and he panted from both the exertion and cold. He hurriedly wiped the snow from his face and looked warily at the strange pair. His eyes widened when he saw strings of water and snow swirling almost eerily around the woman's arms and waist as the wind picked her long hair up and ruffled the white fur of her parka. The large, red dragon stood behind her with a terrifying snarl, its dark wings spread wide in a menacing display.

"Leave, now," Katara ordered again as she sent a water whip at the man's feet that made him jump back.

Another fire ball from the dragon had him scrambling backwards with a fearful yelp.

Katara knew her fighting form was not perfect, but she was sure the hunter wouldn't notice and would think she was serious in hurting him, because she was. She had to do something to protect Zuko.

The hunter realized he would have a tough time with just the dragon to deal with, but the wench was making an already dangerous hunt impossible. So he decided to retreat. He wanted the large prize he would get if he sold both of them, but he valued his life more. He knew when he should admit defeat, which was why he was still alive after all these years. Cursing angrily at them, he shot another arrow in their direction out of spite before running to the cover of the trees.

Zuko debated on whether he should go after the man, but decided such an easily defeated hunter—more like coward—was not worth his time. He looked at Katara to see her glaring after the man.

 _"Are you okay?"_ he asked.

"I'm fine," she huffed before she growled, "Though I wish I could've beaten him up some more. As if I would've let him kill you and then let him touch me! Ha!"

Zuko growled angrily as he silently agreed with her. Over his dead body would he have allowed that man to hurt Katara. It wasn't until he noticed his temper was making the snow melt beneath his feet that he forced himself to calm down.

It made him happy that she had wanted to protect him and he wanted to bring the pleasant mood from before back. An idea popped into his head and he was sure she would like it. He lowered himself to the ground and watched as she stared at him quizzically.

 _"Would you like to go flying before we return to the cave?"_ he asked. _"There are a few spots I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing from the sky."_

Katara instantly warmed to the idea. She hesitantly moved forward once she realized Zuko wanted her to climb onto his back. She grasped onto his dark hair and pulled herself up so that she was straddling the back of his neck. Once she was settled, Zuko spread his wings, bunched his powerful legs beneath him, and shot up into the air. Katara gasped at the abrupt move and she latched tightly onto his hair as her heart pounded erratically with a sudden rush of adrenaline.

 _"It's okay,"_ she heard him say softly in her head _, "Look around you."_

 _"I-I don't think I can,"_ she mentally responded as the wind whipped around them. This was so much different than flying on Appa.

 _"You're missing out if you don't look,"_ he replied cajolingly before he more softly assured her, _"I won't let you fall. I promise."_

Katara trusted him and turned her head to gaze below them. A small exclamation fell from her lips as she took in the sight of the countless trees covered in snow and a few frozen streams. A few animals ran or darted below them as they passed and birds flew into the air. Her long hair flew behind her, and before her, Zuko's dark hair tickled her chilled cheeks. At a distance she could see a chain of mountains covered in snow as was everything else around them. She could only imagine how much more beautiful it would look if the sun shone or if the moon and stars glowed in the dark sky.

She did not pay attention to the time they spent flying around the valley and circling the tall mountain. It wasn't until her stomach growled and she noticed how much darker it was getting that she realized hours had passed. They did not say anything as Zuko flew them back to the cave. Once there, Zuko crouched low and Katara slid down his back. Once on her feet, she looked up to smile at him.

"Thanks, that was amazing," she said happily as she swept her wind-blown hair aside.

 _"You're welcome,"_ he replied with a nod of his head. _"I'm glad you had fun."_

Katara could see that his golden eyes were smiling and she was glad to know he had enjoyed himself too despite what had happened with the hunter. When he turned away, her smile faded a little.

But once she left...what would happen to him?

* * *

"According to what I gathered in the town, a group of travelers resembling the princ—uh, the people we are looking for passed through," the man reported in a low and even tone, smoothly catching his slip.

He was dressed in non-descriptive clothes, a straw hat covering his head under which he had coiled his long braid. Five more men were dressed the same way as they stood silently near the door of the darkened room as they stared at the young man resting on the large bed.

The young man was leaning casually against the headboard, headless of the rumpled sheets around him or the clothes strewed along the floor, as he absentmindedly caressed the naked thigh of the woman resting against his side. The woman had a satiated smile on her smudged, painted lips, her dark hair falling messily around her bare shoulders and breasts. She did not seem perturbed that more men had entered the room. She stared at them while her long nails teasingly caressed the young man's bare chest.

It was not the first time the men had seen the young man in such a way, so they were unfazed with the lewd sight.

"Why don't you leave us for a moment, darling?" the young man purred huskily at the woman.

He chuckled when she pouted at him.

"I promise we'll continue this later," he said lasciviously as he fondled her breast, uncaring that there were other people in the room. Then he charmingly added, "I'll even pay you extra for the wait."

"Fine," she cooed coquettishly before she pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss.

The other men in the room did not show any reaction as the prostitute rose from the bed without bothering to cover herself. She paused long enough to gather her robe before sauntering toward the door. She smiled seductively at the mysterious men, but they did not return her smile as they moved out of her way. Once the door closed behind her, the young man's insincere smile dropped from his handsome face, his hand wiping at his mouth as if to get rid of the woman's kiss, while he looked at his men expectantly.

"So do you know where they are headed?" he asked sharply as he rose from the bed, the sheets falling from his body.

The men politely looked away as he searched for his pants before putting them on. His fingers raked through his messy hair as he looked at himself in the fancy mirror hanging from one wall. The brothel they were lucky enough to find in the small town was small and barely passable, so he assumed the expensive mirror must have been given to the pretty whore by a previous rich client.

"Well?" he prompted impatiently and turned to look at his men with a raised eyebrow.

"By what I gathered, it seems they were making their way toward the mountains up north, my prince," the man who spoke previously continued in the same bland tone, "But that was weeks ago."

"Hm," the young man mused as he absentmindedly frowned at the love bite the whore had left on his neck.

It better be gone before they caught up to the group they were following. It would not do for the woman he planned to marry to know what he had been up to. He was just having a bit of fun before their wedding, but he knew she would not appreciate it. But, soon it will be she who would be giving him love bites as he took her body. He grinned at the thought, feeling his groin tightened at the fantasy.

"My prince?" the man asked when silence fell on them for a long moment.

"Once again the Dai Li have proven their worth," the young man responded with a smirk before he sobered up. "Prepare for our travel toward the mountains. We must travel faster."

"Yes, my lord," the men replied in unison as they bowed their heads.

"You may leave," he said as he waved them away with a dismissive hand.

Without another word, the men quietly exited the room like silent shadows, closing the door noiselessly behind them.

The young man grinned at his reflection.

They were on the right path.

And soon, he will catch her and she would be his.

* * *

 **A/N: Dun, dun, dun!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


	10. In Which the Dragon Has a Surprise

**Hello! I'm so so so sorry for the super late update. I've just gotten so busy these days and my priorities have shifted to more important things. Although it might take me longer to write and update, I won't abandon my stories. I hope you guys stick with me till then!**

 **A huge shout out to PurseMonger for her incredible help and suggestions!**

AtLA is not mine.

* * *

Chapter Nine

 ** _In Which the Dragon Has a Surprise_**

* * *

The following day found the dragon and the princess out in the woods. Zuko was stocking up on firewood in case a big storm hit them since they were approaching the worst of the wintry season. It was strictly for Katara since the cold didn't really affect him. He already had a large pile on one corner of the cave. Katara had also taken to drying meat and collecting more berries as a precaution, in case food became scarce. Sadly, she was having a harder time finding more berries since the cold was destroying them.

Katara was not used to such a difficult living, foraging in the forest with only a limited variety of food, sleeping in a bedroll for days instead on her comfortable bed. It made her miss and appreciate her life back home. However, she did not let it deter her. She found she was learning to be more resilient and resourceful. She could not help feeling a little proud of herself for that fact. And of course, having Zuko as company and sleeping close to his warm body made things easier.

"How long do you think we have before the big blizzard hits?" Katara asked curiously as she looked up at the dragon that was slicing a young tree into logs with his sharp claws.

Zuko paused to glance at her before he lifted his head to regard the gloomy sky. Dark gray clouds moved slowly overhead, blocking the sun's rays.

 _"A few weeks, perhaps,"_ was his simple reply.

Katara hummed as she finished collecting the few berries still clinging to a small bush. A sharp wind swept by and she shivered at the biting cold.

"I can't wait for spring," she remarked absentmindedly.

Zuko paused at her words, feeling his chest constrict despite himself. He wished he could go with her, follow her anywhere she went, as pathetic as that sounded. But he had told himself over and over again that it was a bad idea. He was constantly being attacked and hunted. What if she got hurt during the skirmishes just like his uncle had? He closed his eyes at the painful memory. He would not be able to live with himself if Katara got hurt…or worse. Besides, could he even survive in the blistering cold of the Southern Water Tribe if he followed her to her home? What about when she got married and settled down? He did not think he could stomach seeing her living her life with someone else.

No. It was best he let her go so she could find her own path in life. He would just be an inconvenience.

 _"You'll be able to find your friends soon,"_ he murmured, trying to hide the sadness that always appeared at the thought of her leaving him.

Katara stopped what she was doing to look at the silent dragon. He was staring at her and she could not help but notice the shuttered expression in his eyes. Over time, she had learn to read his moods by gazing into his eyes, although it was not easy since he always tried to hide his emotions. But something in his words made her think he was upset. Was he perhaps upset that he would be alone once she left?

She bit her lip and her fingers fidgeted with the strings that closed her pack.

She wanted to ask him a question she had been musing over the past few days. She wanted to ask if he would like to go with her. The question had sprung to her lips a couple of times, but she always held it back, afraid of what his answer would be. She knew it would be difficult for him to go with her because people would only see a dragon and would immediately want to attack him. She did not know where he could live if they returned to her home. But, she did not want him to remain behind by himself. She did not want to say goodbye to him forever. She had to somehow convince him to leave with her.

"Zuko…" she began before she paused. She licked her lips as she tried to come up with a good argument as to why he should come with her.

She opened her mouth to continue only to be interrupted by a loud roar that cut through the peaceful silence. They stiffened before they whipped their heads in the direction of the terrifying sound. There, at a distance, they could see something huge flying over the tall trees, causing leaves and branches to fly in every direction. It was headed their way with no sign of stopping.

Another dragon.

With a small growl, Zuko rushed toward the shocked waterbender, making sure to keep her protected behind one of his forelegs. He ignored her protests as he stared apprehensively at the fast approaching dragon. He had come across the paths of a few dragons before. Some had ignored him or looked at him curiously, perhaps because they sensed he wasn't a true dragon, but without incident. Others had been aggressive and it was by pure luck that he had been able to leave the fight they instigated with his life. If this dragon meant to fight, Zuko had no choice but to fight back and defeat it. He had to make sure Katara was safe. She would not stand a chance against a dragon.

"Zuko…"

 _"Stay hidden,"_ Zuko ordered grimly as he could now make out the new dragon's form, _"We don't know what it wants. But, if it wants to fight, you will have to run away."_

"I can't leave you!" Katara protested vehemently as she placed one hand against his warm scales while she peeked around his leg.

Zuko did not have the time to argue with her because the dragon burst through the top of the trees, causing them to close their eyes at the gusts of wind that hit them. They quickly opened their eyes to see the dragon was hovering over them. They watched as it gracefully landed a couple of feet away, its large wings creating powerful gusts of wind that sent snow swirling into the air.

The new dragon had a smaller and slicker body than Zuko's bulkier one. It was covered by scales of a bright hue of silver with white fur running along its back and ending at the tip of its long tail. Small, sharp horns of a pearly color protruded from its head. Large, bright turquoise eyes stared intensely at the red dragon before it took a step forward.

Zuko let out a growl, his lips parting into a small snarl to reveal his sharp fangs in warning. To their surprise, the silver dragon let out a whine before it lowered itself to the snowy ground, baring its neck to the bigger dragon.

From behind Zuko's leg, Katara stared at the smaller dragon in confusion.

 _"What is it doing?"_ she mentally asked.

 _"I don't know,"_ Zuko responded, equally puzzled.

He took a small whiff of the strange dragon's scent. His eyes widened when unknown instincts immediately let him know what the other dragon wanted. He shifted uneasily, which caused the silver dragon to let out another whine and move another small step forward. Zuko growled warningly and it immediately froze, baring its neck even more.

 _"It's a female dragon,"_ Zuko tried to explain slowly, _"And, uh, she's letting me know that…she's ready to…uh, mate…"_

"What?!" Katara exclaimed loudly, causing Zuko to flinch.

Ignoring Zuko's warning, the waterbender stepped around his leg to glare at the smaller dragon that seemed to be flaunting herself at Zuko.

The silver dragon's eyes widened in surprise before she straightened herself out and growled menacingly at the woman. She immediately quieted when the male dragon let out another warning growl. She looked at him and let out another whine.

"Can you understand her?" Katara asked as she continued to glare at the dragoness.

 _"Not really,"_ Zuko replied as he cocked his head to the side in confusion. _"I wasn't born with the knowledge on how they communicate, but some of…my dragon instincts help to understand some of their mannerisms."_

"Oh," the princess muttered.

She looked up and waited until Zuko glanced down at her.

"You're not going to…mate with her, are you?" she asked uncertainly.

If he could, Zuko knew he would be gaping at her for even thinking about it.

 _"Of course not!"_ Zuko exclaimed hotly before he let out a disgusted snort at the thought. _"I may be stuck in the body of a dragon, but my mind is human. And I sure as hell am not into bestiality."_

Katara suppressed a sigh of relief before she frowned. She just realized she had tensed in expectation of his answer. She felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment for her reaction. Oh La, was she jealous? Of a female dragon? The silver dragoness crooned once again and Katara's glare intensified.

 _"We should leave,"_ Zuko's voice interrupted her thoughts. _"Maybe she would take the hint that I'm not interested."_

Before the waterbender could reply, she felt him nudge her side with his snout to prompt her to move. She walked forward and Zuko quickly followed after her, making sure to keep her protected by his larger body.

The female dragon gave out a low whine as she took a couple of steps to follow him, but Zuko whirled his head around and snapped his fangs at her. She crooned once more, but stopped when the male dragon growled warningly once again.

Katara peeked around Zuko's foreleg and the movement caught the dragoness' eye. The blue-eyed princess watched as the silver dragon narrowed her eyes at her and gave a low, menacing growl, which she immediately cut off when the Zuko growled more loudly.

Not wanting to prolong the strange encounter any longer, Zuko wrapped his clawed-hand around Katara's middle and lifted her. Bringing her close to his chest, he spread his wings wide before taking flight, leaving the other dragon behind who continued to call after him. The two were silent as Zuko flew them toward the mountain, both contemplating the unexpected encounter. Once inside the cave, Zuko placed Katara down next to the still blazing fire before curling himself around her.

"Why do you think another dragon is here?" Katara asked she looked up curiously into his golden eyes.

Zuko frowned as he also wondered the same. It was strange for dragons to leave the Fire Nation and venture to other territories and colder climates.

 _"The hunter implied that dragons were being ruthlessly hunted down in the Fire Nation,"_ he replied somberly, _"Maybe the dragoness left in search of refuge or a mate."_

A frown marred Katara's brow as she absentmindedly ran her hand along the hard yet warm scales of Zuko's arm. Not only had Zuko been constantly hunted, but so were the other dragons. They seemed to be leaving their home in search of safer places to live. Just like she, in a way, had left her home.

"That's so sad," she murmured as she stared into the fire. "She, in a way, is in the same situation as us."

Zuko let out a low, angry growl.

 _"And Azula is at fault. She's destroying the lives of so many."_

"She must be stopped," Katara added firmly.

After her words, silence settled between them, both wondering how such a thing could be accomplished. Something had to be done, however, before Azula destroyed the world.

* * *

The next evening found the princess and the dragon eating their dinner and talking about the second flight they had that day, before they were forced inside by the change of the weather. The female dragon had continued to follow them around, calling after Zuko and sending Katara menacing glares. But for the most part, she kept her distance, especially since Zuko would growl or snarl at her when she moved too close. They wondered if she planned to stay until she got the male dragon's attention or if she would migrate somewhere else when she realized Zuko was not interested.

Their conversation changed to their encounter with the hunter. They once again wondered how he had arrived in the hidden valley and discussed his comment that the dragons were becoming extinct. Zuko realized as he spent time as a dragon that the horrible stories people had conjured about dragons were exaggerated or false. Yes, dragons were violent, powerful, and untamable, but they were just like any other wild animal defending itself, its family, and its territory. Realizing the mood had changed into a grim one, they decided to recount more amusing stories from their childhood.

"Could you warm up a bath for me?" the waterbending princess asked after they had finished their meal of dried meat and berries.

 _"Of course,"_ he replied as he stood up and followed her to the smaller chamber.

He used his fire breath to warm up the water and steam floated up toward the ceiling covered in glowing crystals, while the water from the mountain trickled down the wall and into the steaming pool.

"Thanks, Zuko," the waterbender said as she bent down to remove her boots.

She paused and looked up at the unmoving dragons, giving him a raised eyebrow, silently asking why he was still there.

Getting the hint, Zuko reluctantly backed away toward the larger cavern when she did not immediately start to undress as she had that first time many weeks ago. A little glimpse wouldn't have hurt, right? Well, it would if she water whipped him in the face for peeking.

 _"I'll wait…on the other side,"_ he murmured.

He walked toward the grassy bedding Katara and he now slept on and dropped himself with a grunt. He would have been embarrassed for his frequent lustful thoughts about Katara if it weren't for the fact that he loved her and that she didn't have a clue. Unable to help himself, he shamelessly listened with his acute hearing as her clothes rustled and hit the floor. Then he heard the sound of her quiet footsteps before she stepped into the water. He heard her sigh contentedly and then hum quietly. He wondered if she was washing her long, chocolate hair or her soft, brown skin. Perhaps she was pouring water onto her perfectly shaped breasts…

He snapped himself out of his thoughts and shook his head, frowning deeply. Why did he do this to himself when he knew there was nothing he could do to act upon his desires? And even if he could, even if he weren't trapped in this cursed body, he didn't think she would be interested in him in that way. He tried to focus on something else besides the nude woman bathing on the other side.

The sound of Katara's sudden yell had him snapping his head up.

 _"Katara!"_ he shouted as he rose and rushed towards her.

He sprang into the smaller chamber with a snarl, ready to attack whatever had distressed Katara. His snarl disappeared and was replaced with confusion when he only saw Katara huddled behind one boulder at the far corner of the pool.

 _"What's wrong?"_ he asked as he once again scanned the area, scenting the air for a foreign smell. Did the hunter sneak in while they were out flying, he wondered with a small growl. But he could not find anything out of the ordinary except for the waterbender hiding behind the rock.

"Over there," Katara hissed as she pointed at a spot at the edge of the pool where she must have been resting against.

Zuko squinted as he scanned the ground, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

 _"What? I only see a spider,"_ he replied, his tone conveyed his confusion. Yes, it was a big spider, probably a venomous one, but it was nothing. He absentmindedly wondered how it had survived in the cold weather.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed with a huff, as if he were dense.

The red dragon could only stare incredulously at her as he smelled her slight fear and disgust.

 _"You weren't afraid of me, a fire-breathing dragon. And you weren't afraid of fighting off a large pack of hungry panther-wolves or standing up against that hunter. But you're terrified of a mere spider_?" he asked disbelievingly.

She once again huffed at him.

"Just get rid of it!" she hissed when the spider crawled creepily toward her.

With a small sigh, Zuko spat a small flame, quickly dealing with the pest.

 _"There. It can't get you any more,"_ he said dryly.

Katara sighed in relief and straightened herself out, stepping away from the boulder. She hated spiders! They just creeped her out with their long, crooked legs, multiple eyes, and hairy bodies. If you took your eyes off of them for a second they disappeared, making you wonder where they would pop up next.

"Thanks," she said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Zuko was about to respond, but his words caught in his throat at the incredible sight before him. His wide eyes took in the view of her full nude body in awe.

Katara froze when she realized she was still naked and she was giving Zuko a show. Mortified, she quickly submerged herself in the water.

"Don't look!" she shouted as she wrapped her arms around herself and glared at him. When he did not move, she again shouted, "Get out, Zuko!"

Blinking out of his haze, the cursed prince was barely able to dodge a water attack to his face by an indignant waterbender.

 _"Sorry!"_ he apologized quickly as he hurriedly left. He couldn't help glancing backwards, hopeful for another peek at her lush form.

Katara growled under her breath as she watched him leave before she smacked her flaming cheeks. She missed his look. She couldn't believe he saw her naked! How embarrassing!

Her mortification only lasted a moment longer before she ended up wondering why he kept staring at her like that. Maybe…he liked what he saw? Did he find her attractive?

Her mind fantasized about being pressed against a human Zuko while his hands touched her breasts. She did not know how he looked exactly, but her mind conjured the hazy image of a handsome man with intense, golden eyes. She let out a quiet groan when her nipples hardened and her core clench. What would it feel like to have his hands all over her body and touching her while their bodies pressed and moved together? She bit her lip as the thought only made the ache between her legs intensify and her fingers twitched at the thought of touching herself. She had not brought herself to release in months! But she sure wasn't going to do so with Zuko on the other side where he could hear everything. Her blush deepened. He would probably even smell her reaction!

She shook her head and frowned. Why couldn't she stop thinking about such things? She didn't even know how he looked like as a man! Besides, it wasn't likely to happen if his curse wasn't broken. And if it were, would he use her because she was the only woman around and it was convenient? Would he even want her _that_ way? She shook her head and scolded herself for allowing such pessimistic thoughts to enter her head.

She had other things to worry about. With that thought in mind, she resumed her bath.

Once she had finished her bath and clothed herself, she took a deep breath before she approached the main cave slowly. She saw that Zuko was lying nonchalantly on his spot. She paused briefly when he looked in her direction before she forced herself to walk forward.

 _"Are you hungry?"_ he asked.

"N-no," she replied quickly, mentally cursing herself for stuttering. She cleared her throat and more calmly said, "I'm okay at the moment."

Zuko eyed the waterbender hesitantly. She seemed a bit nervous, perhaps even embarrassed, although she was trying to hide it. He understood, he was also trying to act as if nothing had happened, as if he had not seen her perfectly nude body… He quickly shook the image away. He wanted to make her comfortable with him again, so he had to force himself to appear unaffected.

 _"We should sleep then,"_ he added. He shifted to his side and lifted one wing in invitation. _"Come sleep."_

Katara could not stop herself from flushing at the thought of lying next to him, even if he was in the form of a dragon. She frowned. How could he act so calm when he just saw her naked? Did the sight of her not affect him, after all? She felt a sudden flare of disappointment in her chest before she crushed the feeling. Perhaps he was just trying to spare her from more embarrassment. She decided to stick to that explanation and told herself to just forget the incident.

Resolute, she picked up her blanket and moved toward him. She lay down close to his hard side, a content sigh escaping her at the warmth he exuded. He lowered his wing over her and she snuggled close against him, pleased at the protective feeling it provided.

 _"Comfortable?"_ he asked softly.

"Very," she murmured.

They were silent for a moment, the sound of the wood popping and the fire crackling the only sound permeating the cavern.

"I'm worried for Sokka, Aang, and Toph," the waterbender spoke after a while as she wrapped her blanket closer to her. "I wish there was a way to know if they are okay."

 _"I'm sure they are. Don't worry,"_ Zuko tried to reassure her.

"How can't I?!" she exclaimed in frustration. "What if they're hurt or…d-dead?"

She swallowed at the thought and clenched her hands.

Then more softly, she added, "I can't help feeling guilty for worrying my father. I had expected to arrive at my grandparents' months ago so I could send him a message saying I was fine. But he must be even more worried now…and it's all my fault."

 _"You need to have faith that you will find them and see your father soon,"_ Zuko said with a soft rumble, trying to offer her comfort. _"You didn't know this was going to happen. And you were only trying to protect yourself from an unwanted marriage."_

Katara remained silent as she listened to his words, trying to believe them.

 _"You will see your family soon, I'm sure,"_ the dragon repeated.

He wanted to make her feel better, he wanted her to be happy, so he hoped his words would come true. But a bigger part of him wished for the opposite because then that would mean she would leave and he would never see her again.

"I really hope so. I miss them," she said with a small sigh as she stared into the glowing fire.

Zuko did not reply since he did not know what else to say, but he hoped he had been able to make her feel a little better. But what would he do when the day came she finally left to reunite with her family?

He glanced down at her to see she had fallen asleep. He brought back to mind her reasons as to why she left her home and he narrowed his eyes, a low growl emitting from his throat. It angered him that she was being forced to marry a man she despised. A man who treated her without respect and who seemed not to care for her. He could not blame her for running away from a situation she felt she had no control over.

His mind returned to the stunning visual he had the good fortune to have witnessed. He remembered the way Katara had looked as she rose from behind the boulder, water gently running down her curvy body, like a spring goddess. Her long, wet hair clinging to her rich, brown skin. Dusky nipples hardened from the cold, and the tantalizing peek of dark curls between her luscious thighs. He swallowed hard before he let out an angry growl.

He hated the curse more than he ever had before! He had no way of showing his love for Katara. He wanted to pleasure her with his body. How he wished he could run his hands all over her soft curves, run his tongue on her sweet, perfect skin, kiss her lips with his, and claim her body with his own. His eyes closed and he licked his fangs at the thought before he snapped them open when he heard Katara murmur in her sleep.

He looked down with heated eyes only to see her features pinched into a small frown of discomfort. It was then he realized his erotic thoughts were making his body hotter than usual and was affecting her while she slept. Trying to control his thoughts, he shifted a little to give her some space.

He hissed at the pleasurable pain he experienced when he pressed his lower body close to the ground. Bewildered, the golden-eyed dragon carefully shifted to his side so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping princess and looked down his body. His eyes widened in both mortification and amazement at what he saw. A long protrusion was sticking out of his lower body. It was huge, swollen, and an angry red. He immediately knew it was his dragon body's version of his penis and he didn't know what to do or think. He didn't even know he could have an erection in his current form! He had had no sexual thoughts since his curse.

But he had to admit Katara made him experience such an intense arousal, nothing like he ever had before in his entire life—human or dragon. He shook his head and half-heartedly glared at his disturbingly surprising erection, willing it to go away. He was _not_ going to figure out how to take care of the problem. He needed to stop thinking such things. He needed to stop fantasizing about Katara. It would only hurt him in the end when she left him.

The thought once again brought a pang of pain to his chest as it always did. But he would not dwell on the sadness, there would be enough time for that after she left. There were about two months left for the stormy season to pass and for spring to arrive. And while that came to pass, he would enjoy her presence as much as he could.

His thoughts immediately brought his body down from its earlier arousal and he closed his eyes, a sigh-like sound falling from his fanged mouth. He curled around the sleeping waterbender protectively, carefully pressing her against his chest.

Selfishly, he could not help wishing there was a way he could make her stay with him.

Forever.

* * *

A few miles away from the cursed dragon's mountainside, there was a small, quiet village. Night had set hours ago, so the streets were empty and silent as the villagers slept. The only place that was still open and hosting boisterous laughter was a seedy tavern at the edge of the village. Inside, drunken men were roaring with laughter or getting into scuffles while scantily-clad barmaids moved around the greasy tables, setting down drinks and coquettishly avoiding the men's grabby hands.

On one side of the tavern stood a bearded man, waving his arms in the air as he drunkenly retold his tales to the few men listening to him.

"I tell ya, the red dragon was huge!" he insisted as he spread his arms wide to indicate the measurement. "And his black horns and fangs were tis big! They woulda made me rich!"

"Sure it was," another man scoffed as he took a big guzzle of his drink. He swiped his arm across his mouth and belched. "Everybody knows dragons don't live in da Earth Kingdom."

"This one did!" the hunter growled. "He lived up in dat tall mountain up north."

The men scoffed and laughed, murmuring that the man must be crazy or delusional with drink. The hunter cursed at them as he continued to insist he was telling the truth while he drunkenly swayed on his feet. Nobody noticed the small group sitting at one of the tables at a dark corner. Thick, long cloaks and large hoods hid them from view, but the other patrons were too drunk, passed out, or trying to seduce the barmaids to be suspicious of the silent group.

"You don't even know what else happened!" the hunter exclaimed. "There was a beautiful, and I mean _beautiful_ ," here he moved his hands in the air as if tracing a woman's curves, "blue-eyed woman with it!"

"Oh, really?" another man sneered drunkenly, "Why didn't ya bring her with ya?"

"Cuz the dragon was protecting her!" the hunter shouted.

The men erupted into laughter once again.

"Everybody knows dragons don't protect nobody," the previous man laughed.

"Well, this one protected her like she was some sort of treasure!" the hunter insisted. "He was intent on killing me ta keep her safe! But she dinna make it easy for me either!"

"What ya mean?"

"She was a waterbenda!" the man exclaimed as he waved his hands in the air, poorly imitating a waterbending move, not realizing the cloaked men lifting their heads to stare at him.

The men laughed uproariously, going so far as to slap their knees or tables.

"A woman beat you?"

"Shut up!" the hunter growled as he slammed his tankard on the table, "I was up against a dragon and a waterbenda! It wasn't a fair fight!"

"Maybe ya should be a storyteller instead of a dragon hunter," one man piped up with a wheezing laugh. "Maybe ye'd have more luck!"

The comment caused more laughter from the other men and a few barmaids that had been listening on the sideline. The hunter threw a few crude insults at the men mocking him, but when he saw he was already losing their interest, he drank the rest of his beer before he stalked away. At least he tried to do so, but instead he stumbled his way toward the door. Nobody noticed the group sitting at the corner slowly stand up.

The hunter flung the door open and then slammed it behind him, almost causing him to stumble at the force he used. He righted himself with a sniff before clambering down the few stairs. He walked drunkenly down the street, trying to make his way to the barn where he had hid his things, all the while muttering that he was telling the truth. He rounded a corner and immediately bumped into something. With a loud curse, he looked up to see six men blocking his path.

"What da ya want?" he growled as he glared at the hooded individuals that seem to be swaying before his eyes.

He watched on unsteady feet as the men parted in an eerily simultaneous move to let another man pass through. He frowned and squinted as he tried to make out their faces, but it was too dark to make anything out.

"I said what da ya want?" he repeated more loudly.

"I heard your interesting tale about the dragon and the waterbending woman," the man standing before him spoke in a smooth tone. "Is it true?"

"Hell yeah it is!" the hunter assured with a slur.

"Excellent," the stranger responded and the hunter could just make out a gleaming smile beneath the hood. "In that case, we would like to…invite you to tell us more."

Before the hunter could move, two men moved forward and seized his arms. He tried to protest, demanding to know where they were taking him, but they ignored him as the man who had spoken turned on his heel and walked toward a dark alley, a small grin of anticipation curling his lips.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, snap.**

 **Thank you for reading and for the lovely reviews!**

 **~alwaysZutarian**


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